Jerome Nysveen

     Jerome Percival Nysveen was born January 21, 1918, to Henry & Mina (Waslien)      Nysveen in rural Hillsboro, ND.  He attended grade school in Norway Township, and took his confirmation in Norwegian and English at Highland Lutheran Church.  Jerry was a  lifelong member of Norway Lutheran Church and served in many positions on the church council.  He attended high school in Hillsboro, was violinist in orchestra, and played football for Hillsboro High.  He then attended Mayville State Teachers College, again was violinist and played football, and graduated with a B.A. degree.  During the following two years he taught and was principal, superintendant and basketball coach, at Bohnsack Consolidated School, rural Hillsboro.

     On May 15, 1942, Jerry was united in marriage to Aagot Lerfald of Hatton, ND.  Aagot also graduated from Mayville State Teachers College with a Standard Teacher's Certificate.  In October of 1942, Jerry enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps where he became a "Link Trainer" instructor teaching instrument flying to cadets in basic flight training at Minter Field near Bakersfield, CA..  Aagot joined him in California and taught school nearby. 

     After his discharge in March, 1946, he began working in tractor repair for Hovet Implement, the John Deere Company in Hillsboro.  In the fall of 1948 he became a bulk gas agent for Mobil Oil Company and in 1952 purchased a service station and The Coffee Cup Café north of Hillsboro on US Highway 81.  Their son, Robert, was born in 1946, and their daughter, Linda, in 1949.

     In 1955, Jerry and Aagot built and managed the Sunset View Motel on the north edge of Hillsboro, and in 1972 they built and managed the Hillsboro Inn near the I-29 exit.  Jerry's Hiway Service closed in 1972 when I-29 was completed; however Jerry continued to     operate the bulk business.  They operated both motels until retiring in 1977, at which time, after 28 years, they also retired from Mobil Oil Company. 

     After retiring they continued to farm the Nysveen family farm in Norway Township and the Waslien family farm in Wold Township.  He was happiest when planting, fixing his antique farm equipment or taking care of the fall work. Each fall he gathered friends and held impromptu threshing bees in the area.  Jerry had a constant stream of local youth,  untrained in farm work, to assist in his farming operation, and a long litany of stories    reflecting the inexperience and follies of his young employees.

     Jerry and Aagot donated the land for the Traill County Historical Society Pioneer Farm Museum and Jerry was very involved in many phases of the construction of a new building, its early operation, and the acquisition of antique farm machinery.  Jerry was also one of the founders and promoters of the local vintage tractor pull contests at the farm museum.  Jerry and his close friends who were instrumental in locating many unique items for the farm museum were affectionately known as the "Retreads."  Aagot always wondered where the guys went as they searched the surrounding counties for just the perfect implement for the museum.

     During his lifetime, Jerry was known for his good sense of humor, and as a fiddler of Norwegian tunes.  He sang together with his brothers for many occasions in the Hillsboro area.  He created beautiful woodworking pieces, was a member of Kiwanis and the Chamber of Commerce.  In the 70's he had a bowling team consisting of friends and relatives for    several years.  He built a go cart track on the three-acre patch of land behind the Sunset View Motel, and many of Hillsboro's young men learned to drive fast on the oval dirt track.  He cherished his family and friends, working on the farm and restoring vintage tractors.  Jerry and Aagot celebrated their 68^th wedding anniversary this spring. 

     Jerry is survived by his wife, Aagot, his son Robert (Gloria) of Fargo, and daughter, Linda (Ken) Johnson of Sheridan, Wyoming, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; and siblings Pat Woods, Myron (Lorna) Nysveen, and Duane (Shirley) Nysveen, sister in law, Oleen Lerfald, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Mina Nysveen, and his sister-in-law Edith Lerfald, and brothers-in-law, Alvin and Reuben Lerfald, and Bob Woods. 

     In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Norway Lutheran Church, American   Cancer Society, Hospice of the Red River Valley, or to a charity of your choice.