Donald Nissly, 90, of Perry died Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, at the Dallas County Hospital in Perry, Iowa.
Mass of Christian burial will be held Monday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Perry. Visitation will be Sunday, Feb. 15 from 1-5 p.m. with family present from 3-5 p.m. at Carris Family Funeral Home. Burial will be in the Violet Hill Cemetery in Perry, Iowa.
When singer Laurie Anderson’s father died, she compared it to a library burning down. Thus begins this obituary for Don Nissly, 90, of Perry, who was preceded in death by his siblings, George, Paul, Martin, John, Cecil, Susan, Myra, Mary Evelyn, Bill, Joseph and Raymond.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy Nissly of Perry; son, Dan (Shelly) Nissly of Grimes; daughters, Mary (Richard Wright) Nissly of Dallas Center and Peggy (Gary Silver) Nissly of Dallas Center; sister, Edith Inouye of Los Angeles; three grandchildren, Michelle Moehlis, Matt (Haley) Moehlis and Jacob Nissly; two great-grandchildren, Oliver Moehlis and Levi Moehlis; and many nieces and nephews.
Donald Jacob Nissly was born at home on Nov. 20, 1924, near Dallas Center, Iowa, to Noah C. and Anna (Wenger) Nissly.
He was united in marriage to Nancy Downey on Nov. 21, 1949, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Perry.
Don farmed and managed a dairy herd until 1965 and then became a Farm Bureau Insurance agent, retiring at age 75.
But these are just the facts.
While in the Dallas County country school system, he had the highest grade average in the county. With the advent of World War II, Don had to leave school after ninth grade in order to run the farm, replacing his next-older brother, Joe, who was off to the service. (His father had died when Don was 13.)
But that didn’t stop his education. Growing up in a home that firmly implanted a love of reading, Don was a lifelong learner and reader and conversationalist. No one ever walked away from a discussion with him without feeling a little bit enlightened — especially if the topic was politics. While he knew he was right, he was an open-minded man who respected all opinions.
Don was active in his community, early on in 4-H, where he showed Holsteins from the family herd, and later with the Dallas County Rural Youth Organization, where he was destined to meet his lovely wife, Nancy, at a square dance.
Over the years, he was involved with the Dallas County Farm Bureau, the zoning commission and the Knights of Columbus at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Perry.
All his life he read. All his life he worked hard and was devoted to his family. All his life he loved sports. In the 1950s and ’60s, he played for the Dallas Center Merchants fast-pitch softball team, catching for his brother and pitcher, Ray Nissly.
Hopeful to the end to finally see the Cubs in World Series play, he remained a faithful fan. He would watch just about all sports, but the Cubs and the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Dowling Catholic Maroons — his grandchildren’s school — were his favorites.
He also loved family get-togethers and making homemade ice cream and, after retirement, “farming” the huge lawn and caring for the home and acreage where he and Nancy lived in rural Dallas County, right across the Raccoon River from where he was born.
And Don never forgot a joke. (He did sometimes forget he had told it before, but he really liked a good joke.)
All in all, this was a man who embraced what he drew in life with an amazing and ongoing optimism that inspired all who knew him. These words from the obituary of Don’s father describe Don as well: “. . . a hale fellow well met, as the expression goes. He was fair in his judgments and was frank in his opinions. You knew just what he meant when he spoke, and he was true to those convictions as best mortal man might be. He was an insatiable reader and was well posted on all topics of the day, which he delighted to discuss, and intelligently so.”
Like father, like son. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matt. 25:23)
Memorials will be given to family and may be left at the funeral home. Online condolences may be sent towww.carrisfuneralhome.com.
