Community Obituary
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Long time publisher and community leader Jack Nisselius Funeral services for Jack Nisselius will be held Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church with Daryl Lynde officiating. Interment will follow at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery with military honors provided by American Legion Post #42. Visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 p.m., Friday, April 27, 2012 at Gillette Memorial Chapel. Jack K. Nisselius, longtime editor and publisher of the News-Record, died Thursday morning, April l9, 2012 at the Close to Home Hospice and Hospitality House. He was 91. He was born an only child on Nov. 23, 1920 to Arthur and Hazel (Kimball) Nisselius in Newcastle, Wyoming (Mother took the train to Newcastle for his birth as she did not want “horse doctors” attending the birth). From infancy to third grade, he was in Gillette. (Dad was always in the printing trade and as a youngster, Jack used to fall asleep on a pile of newsprint.) Then Art moved the family to Spearfish, SD, in October, 1929. That was when the depression hit, but Dad always said that it didn’t arrive in Spearfish until about l931. From about l932, Mother and Jack spent the summers at the cabin in Crosslake, Minnesota, where she had been reared. They resided in Spearfish until Jack went into the 11th grade when the family moved back to Gillette. Jack played the trumpet from the seventh grade until they moved to Gillette at which time he asked his mother, “May I quit this trumpet?” and her answer was a resounding, “no”. As it turned out, it proved to be the best experience he ever had with a Mr. Fred Bond, music instructor. He graduated from Campbell County High School with the class of 1938. He entered the University of Wyoming for the first two years and then went to the University of Missouri where he met his wife to be on a blind date. He graduated with a degree in Journalism in the class of 1942. He was always thankful that the draft board gave him a chance to finish his schooling. WWII was on, so Jack was given 10 days from graduation to spend with his parents in Gillette. He used the occasion to introduce his fiancée, Christine Rutherford, to Wyoming. Among other places they visited were Devils Tower, the faces at Mt. Rushmore and the Big Horn Mountains. Jack’s mother went along to keep them company. At the end of their time, they went to Cheyenne where Chris got on a train and Jack entered the service at Ft. Warren, WY on June l9, l942. On the
14th of November, l943, he was joined in marriage with Christine R. Rutherford in Cleburne, Texas. He was to serve a little over four years almost to the date, June 29, l946. He was discharged at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. He went to Germany for 19 months during which time Chris gave birth to their son, James Arthur, “Jimmy”. It was 14 months before Jack was to meet his son. A daughter, Judith Kay, was born in l948. While in service, Jack was in the 610 Tank Destroyer Battalion at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. Two months later he was in the 692 TDB at Camp Campbell, Kentucky. From here, he ended up at Fort Hood, Texas and it was here that D-Day occurred with the landing of troops in Normandy on June 6th, l944. It was then that Jack received his orders to go to the European Theater. The sea was very smooth, a fact that made the sailors quite sick. Four years later, he was recalled into the Korean conflict. He entered this time of service on Nov. 11, 1950 at Ft. Riley, Kansas, and served l8 months. He was discharged on Mar. 19, 1952. During the intervening time between the two wars, Jack joined his father in The NewsRecord. At the conclusion of the Korean Conflict, he again joined his father in the newspaper. It was after a long time friendship that a partnership with Bruce Kennedy (publisher of the Greybull Standard) took place. A group of newspapers was formed, including The News-Record of Gillette, Cody Enterprise, Greybull Standard, Douglas Budget, Green River Star, Bridger Valley Pioneer, Hungry Horse News of Columbia, Montana, Whitefish Pilot of Whitefish, Montana and Dillon Tribune of Dillon, Montana. Bruce Kennedy was a real friend and was as honest as the day was long. They were partners for 20 years until his death in an automobile accident. In his youth, he was a stamp collector and also joined the Boy Scouts. Later he was again involved in Cub and Boy Scouting with his son. As an adult, he was very active in the American Legion and was a 50 year life member. He was involved in forming the Legion’s Drill team. The drill team was formed to honor those men who had given their lives in service to their country during WWII. It was a great privilege to continue participation in the drill team to honor those who had served their country at the time of their death. He was a member of the Lions Club for over 60 years and was presented the Monarch Achievement Award as
Who designed the landing craft for the D-Day Invasion? Look in next week’s paper for the answer
Joke of the week Submitted by Gale Jennings Late one night a mugger, wearing a ski mask, jumped into a path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs “give me your money,” he demanded. Indignant, the affluent man replied, “you can’t do this – I am a United States congressman!” “In that case,” replied the mugger, “give me MY money.”
well as the Melvin Jones Fellow Award. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, served four years on the Campbell County Health Care Foundation, and participated in the promotion of the new Campbell County Memorial Hospital. He was a member of the Wyoming Press Association and was president of it in 1972. His hobbies included collecting stamps and coins, and photography of which he took many for the NewsRecord. He and Chris enjoyed dancing and playing cards with their friends and family. At the age of 21, he was baptized and joined the First Baptist Church where he was a lifelong active member. He loved the Lord and knew Him as His Savior. He was an avid reader and especially enjoyed the novels of James Michener of which he read all. He always said that he was so lucky to have had a wonderful wife of 68 years, and a wonderful family. The times he spent with his grandchildren were “the best of times”. The rich legacy that he passed on to his family will always be a cherished one. Jack Nisselius is survived by his wife, Christine; daughter, Judy (Scott) Tenney of Sheridan, Wyoming; grandchildren: Hannah (Derek) Hall of Denver, Colorado, Pat Tenney of MacKay, Idaho, Leah (Miles) Fortner of Dallas, Texas; daughter-in-law, Barbara Nisselius of Gillette, Wyoming; grandsons: Matthew (Akiko) Nisselius of Tokyo, Japan, Nathan Nisselius of Gillette, Wyoming and Michael Nisselius of Denver, Colorado, Clinton Ellison of Dallas, Texas., Curtis, Ellison of Denver, Colorado and James Beck of Sarasota, Florida; great grandchildren: Noah and Mia Nisselius of Tokyo, Japan. He was preceded in death by his parents and son, James “Jim” Nisselius. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church or to the Close to Home Hospice and Hospital-
ity House. Memorials and condolences may be sent in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel, 210 W. 5th Street, Gillette, Wyoming 82716 or condolences via the internet atwww.gillettememorialchapel.com.
Who’s Brand is this in Campbell County? Answer from last week Merle McClure
Open Articles
You may submit your open articles the following ways: Mail your article to 5105 Tarry St., Gillette, WY 82718 or E-mail your article to: OpenArticles@CampbellCountyObserver.com This is our open article section where the public may submit any article that they would like to see printed. This can be poetry, cooking, vacations, recipes, hunting/fishing stories, politics, philosophy, news, theory, or anything that you believe that the local news is missing and should be recognized. This article is subject to editing by our staff. This section is for fact, not opinions. We will not print submissions about politics (though policies are ok), religion, or self advertisement. This is your chance to be a local journalist, or to submit your ideas to your community. Limit of 1000 words.
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Where is this picture taken? Submitted by Kyle Brekerson
Find out in next week’s Campbell County Observer
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