Eileen Winnifred (Kelly) Hanson, age 101, was born to Harry E. and Mathilda (Fischer) Kelly, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on March 17, 1921, and went home to Jesus in her sleep on October 15, 2022, at Valley Senior Living on 42nd. She married Harold Hanson on November 3, 1942. Eileen loved to tell the story of her Dad being responsible for the creation of Kelly’s slough in an attempt to bring rain to the area. She was very proud of her family and loved to look at pictures of family members. She did many kinds of handwork over the years, including knitting, crocheting, crewel, punchwork, cross stitch, and especially embroidery. Dancing was a very important part of her life from childhood until Harold passed away. She and Harold traveled all over the United States and Canada, including Alaska and Hawaii. She loved to play Scrabble, even two weeks before her death, read hundreds of books, and worked crossword puzzles until recently. She was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church at H
Madison, the first week of April, 1961 Close Close Close
Madison, the first week of April, 1961.
As the municipal election of 1961 approached, no one expected Mayor Ivan Nestingen to be a candidate. The 39-year-old attorney and former state representative was certainly popular enough to coast to victory first elected in a special election in 1956, elected to a full two-year term in 1957 by a 3–1 margin, he was reelected without opposition in 1959. And now he’s riding high as the champion of the Frank Lloyd Wright Monona Terrace auditorium and convention center, which he’s pushed to the verge of construction.
But Nestingen had led the Kennedy for President Club during the successful Wisconsin primary campaign in 1960, and chaired the state delegation to the national convention, so everyone assumed he’d leave Madison for a job in the new administration.