Obituary of Rosalie Ellen Nelsen

Rosalie Ellen (Marlene) Nelsen, age 71 years, late of Morse, Saskatchewan, passed away on November 21, 2019 in Herbert, Saskatchewan, following a battle with leukemia and Alzheimer’s. She was born to Doris Florence Gariepy on April 15, 1948 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Her grandfather Charles Gariepy nicknamed her “Marlene” and it stuck with her for her entire lifetime. Her first years were spent with her mother and grandparents in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. At the age of 4, they moved to a farm near Sibbald, Alberta when her mother married Norbert Wenzel. Marlene loved life on the farm and any and all farm animals. She started her education at a rural school named University School which was 2 1/2 miles from the farm and particularly enjoyed the days when she could ride horseback to school. When that school closed, she rode the bus to Oyen Public School. Being the oldest in the family, she often was able to help her stepfather with all manner of mixed farming. In her teenage years, she attended a girls’ school in Rosetown, Saskatchewan before moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba for a short time where she met Murray Nelsen. They later married and raised their two children together in Calgary, Alberta and Prince George, British Columbia. Often a homemaker she helped out when needed by working as a clerk and later as a healthcare aide. She was an amateur taxidermist and enjoyed many arts and crafts that connected her to her Metis heritage. Her partner later in life was her long-time friend Alan Charles McMillan. They lived in McCreary, Manitoba prior to their retirement when they moved to Morse, Saskatchewan to be closer to her mother. Marlene was predeceased by her sister Mary Lou Charest in 1999; loving stepfather Norbert Wenzel in 2002; sister Dale Anne Potter in 2016; and her partner Alan McMillan in 2015. She leaves to mourn her mother Doris Wenzel (Gariepy); brothers Bryon and Wade Wenzel; sister Lorie (Don) Bischop; son Kevin Nelsen (Danine); daughter Candy Nelsen; grandchildren Erin, Parker, Darien, and Daycee and many nieces and nephews. The family wishes to express their gratitude for the care provided to Marlene by the Prairie Health Care Centre in Cabri, Saskatchewan and the Herbert Integrated Health Care Centre in Herbert, Saskatchewan. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer Society or a humane society of your choice.