Agnes Elizabeth Ravnholt Nussle

Agnes Elizabeth Ravnholt Nussle was born just before her twin sister Astrid Margrethe on July 21, 1931. They were born at home on the family farm in Milltown, Wisconsin, the ninth and tenth children of Kristine and Ansgar Ravnholt. Agnes lived in Milltown until the second grade when the family moved to the nearby town of Luck. As a child she was “expected to mind my parents, show care toward others and responsibly do farm chores”, all traits she carried into adulthood. Agnes attended Luck public schools and the family was active in West Denmark Lutheran church. Their Danish heritage was central to their lives and in fact, Agnes did not learn English until she began school. Life was far from easy for the family. They lost the farm and at one point spent a cold Midwestern winter living in the basement of the church. In spite of the many hardships, Agnes always spoke of the good memories of her childhood. She was in awe of how her mother managed to have a happy, singing disposition, creating a cozy home in spite of a lack of running water and indoor plumbing. Agnes and Astrid were constant companions, even sleeping in the same bed (with older sister Gerda). No doubt this close and supportive relationship helped her to not only endure the many adversities, but to emerge strong and capable. One complaint she often voiced, though, was the preferential treatment she felt was shown to her brothers, something she was very careful not to show with her own children. Agnes learned the values of hard work, honesty, forgiveness, loyalty and compassion; values which defined her nature throughout her life.

Agnes attended Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, transferring to Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where she received a degree in Speech and Language Pathology. While at Grand View she began dating Paul Nussle. After a five year courtship, they married in July of 1954. They lived in a small third floor apartment across from Grand View, where Paul was attending the Lutheran seminary. Agnes was employed as a Speech and Hearing specialist for the state of Iowa, traveling to schools to work with hearing-impaired children. She worked up until the birth of their first child, Lynn, who was born nine months (and two days!) after their wedding. Agnes enjoyed the role of homemaker and took pride in her ability to manage household finances and keep to a tight budget.

Once Paul was ordained, the little family moved to Tyler, Minnesota, where Agnes began her career as a “pastor’s wife”. It’s hard to fathom now, but in the 1950’s and 60’s the wives of pastors were expected to be fulltime unpaid helpmates to their busy husbands, while continuing to run a spotless household and live an unblemished life of service. While no doubt resenting aspects of this role, Agnes was ideally suited and not only fulfilled the responsibilities, but relished the relationships and the strong sense of community that came with church life. A baby boy, Eric, joined the family in April of 1957.

In 1958 Agnes moved to Salinas, California, when Paul was called to a Danish Lutheran church. One of the benefits of this move was living in the same community as her close friend Karma Nilsen. Daughter Ingrid came along in 1964, born on Karma’s birthday. Agnes’ twin Astrid lived with the family for two years before beginning her career with the Foreign Service.
After two years in San Luis Obispo, Agnes and family moved to Santa Barbara in 1968. Baby Karin was born there in April 1969. Agnes loved life in California. She kept beautiful gardens and appreciated the year-round growing season. She enjoyed the beach and the rolling hills and farmland of Steinbeck country. The family often vacationed in Sequoia and Agnes was an enthusiastic hiker. A lifelong animal lover there was always a dog and at least one cat at home and many litters of puppies and kittens. Agnes was naturally fit due to never sitting down, unless at a sewing machine, and always managed to look beautiful in spite of seemingly giving her appearance very little thought.

Agnes’ brothers and sisters moved to all parts of the country and the globe, but she always maintained very close ties with all her family. Not one to spend money on long distance she wrote weekly to her mother and to Astrid. Every two years the family took long driving vacations to visit family and to introduce the children to historic sites and beautiful national parks. Agnes made a point of insuring that her children knew where they came from and who they were related to. Agnes was very conscious of the importance of family traditions. Holidays and birthdays were always celebrated together, Saturday morning meant Danish pancakes and rain meant fudge (although this habit changed after the move from California to Washington!). There were always baked goodies, but no one put on pounds as she taught her kids to savor each bite. She was known to say, “One cookie tastes just as good as two”.

In 1978 Agnes and Paul moved with Karin and Ingrid to Lake Tapps, Washington, to start a mission Lutheran church. While it was very hard for her to leave California, it was a blessing to be near sister Gerda and brother Albert and eventually her brother Reimert and twin Astrid. Lynn and Eric also found their way to the Seattle area. Agnes returned to work and found great satisfaction helping special-needs preschoolers at Point Defiance School in Tacoma. Never one to slow down or relax, Agnes continued with church duties, landscaped her yard from scratch and never hired someone to do something she could do herself.

Agnes was thrilled to welcome her five grandchildren Tor, Kiersten, Dalton, Ashley and Brooke into her life. She loved caring for them as babies and toddlers and attending games, concerts and other events as they grew older. She lavished affection on her children’s pets as well and spent many hours puppy-sitting and going to dog shows. The focus of her life was always on her family. She was “very proud of her children and the contributions they made to others and also of her brothers and sisters and their many accomplishments”. She was a loving wife and devoted partner to Paul. Her closeness to her twin Astrid cannot be overstated and Astrid’s death in 2014 was a devastating blow.

Agnes suffered from a multitude of physical ailments over the last several years of her life, but naturally continued to do her best to fully participate in the lives of her family. She also tirelessly worked on piecing quilt tops for Lutheran World Relief, creating over 100 in a single year. Diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, she eventually needed the help of others to live safely. Living alone since Paul’s death in 2004, she was happy when Eric and his wife Jo moved in with her and lived with her for two years, but eventually she needed more care than they could provide while working fulltime. At this point Stacy Ingersoll entered her life. Hired as a caregiver, she quickly became a friend, confidant, and advocate. Agnes moved into Heritage House Memory Care Center in Buckley, Washington. She continued to engage actively in the lives of her children and grandchildren, while living in a safe environment. The caregivers often remarked that she was their “favorite” and that they were so impressed with her kindness and thoughtfulness. Of note, Agnes gave up her one cookie philosophy and delighted in large doses of milk chocolate, raspberries and other treats! Eventually her ability to swallow was impaired to the point where she could no longer eat or drink and a long ago decision against a feeding tube meant that the end was near. Her children and grandchildren were with her constantly for two weeks before she died peacefully on April 27, 2016. Agnes will be buried at the West Denmark Cemetery in Wisconsin. Her gravesite is between those of her husband Paul and her twin Astrid.

Agnes is survived by her children Lynn (Monte), Eric (Jo), Ingrid (Chris) and Karin (Andrew), her grandchildren Tor, Kiersten, Dalton, Ashley and Brooke, brother Reimert (Betty), brother-in-law Mark Nussle (Lori) and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Paul and her siblings Thora, Albert, Halvor, Johanne, Eiler, Otto, Gerda and Astrid.