Charlotte Rae Holmquist

Charlotte Rae Nelson was born at the Saint James Hospital to Ervin and Myrtle (Wright) Nelson on September 5, 1944. With her parents and three older brothers, Gene, Jerry and Russ, she grew up on the Nelson Family Farm in South Branch Township. Her father, Ervin, passed away on May 18, 1949 after a short illness. Charlotte, her mother, and brothers continued to live and work the farm, which is still owned by the family today. Together they raised, corn, soybeans, Holstein and beef cattle, sheep, pigs, and thousands of chickens each year. She always said, "We were poor, but we never knew we were poor." Despite the hard work on the farm, she was a 10-year member of the Nifty Thrifty 4-H club, where she won an overall championship in bread baking. She attended Country School until 5th grade when she started at the Saint James Public Community School. Charlotte and her classmates were the first to graduate from the new Saint James High School in 1962. On May 26, 1968, Charlotte married Donn Holmquist at First Lutheran Church in Saint James. Donn and Charlotte were blessed with two children, Teresa and Craig. The Holmquist family made their home in Saint James until 1979, when they moved to an acreage near Godahl. In September 1962, Charlotte began working at the ASCS Office in Watonwan County. She worked there until the birth of her daughter in 1970. She came back as temporary help on occasion until 1982, when she returned for a 3-month appointment. Those 3 months turned into 23 years. She worked at Watonwan County ASCS Office, which is now the Farm Service Agency (FSA), for a total of 30 years. Not long after her return, she was given the task of implementing the first computer system into the FSA Office. She worked with automation, farm records, and compliance programs until her retirement on January 7, 2005. After retirement, she enjoyed meeting on the first Wednesday of each month with the other "FSA Ladies" and their spouses for lunch at various locations throughout the area. She also looked forward to her monthly lunches with her "old school friends" and her sister-in-law, Judy. Charlotte loved to read and passed this love on to her children. She was an early user of an e-reader, yet a traditional paper book was never far away. A farm girl at heart, and from her years at FSA, she loved looking at aerial photos, often using Google Maps just to see what the land looked like from the air. Charlotte Rae Holmquist passed away with her family at her side on December 31, 2016 at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Charlotte is survived by her husband Donn, and daughter Teresa Holmquist, both of Saint James; son Craig, of Richfield; brother, Jerry (Roberta)Nelson, sister-in-law Judy Nelson, nieces and nephews Randy (Pam) Nelson, Jill (Mark) Runge, Trent (Karie) Nelson and Jenny (Kevin) Harbitz all of Saint James, Scott (Jerilyn) Nelson of Hudson, WI, Tracey (Lon) Peterson of Mankato, Dan (Heidi) Nelson of North Mankato and Gina (Jeff) Welsh of Missoula, MT, grand-nieces and nephews and many cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents Ervin and Myrtle Nelson, brothers Eugene and Russell Nelson, father and mother-in-law, Ted and Erin Holmquist and brother-in-law Wayne Holmquist. Visitation 1 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Thursday, January 5, 2017 Sturm Funeral Home, St. James Chapel 906 - 10th Ave. S. St. James, Minnesota, United States 56081 Visitation 2 9:30 am - 10:30 am Friday, January 6, 2017 First Lutheran Church, St. James 716 6th Ave. S. Saint James, Minnesota, United States 56081 Service Information 10:30 am Friday, January 6, 2017 First Lutheran Church, St. James 716 6th Ave. S. Saint James, Minnesota, United States 56081 Interment Information Mt. Hope Cemetery, St. James S. CR 27 St. James, Minnesota, United States 56081 Fellowship Lunch will be served in the church fellowship hall following burial.