Nels Gunder Gunderson was born on February 26, 1930 in Reliance, South Dakota, the fifth child of Gustav and Emma Monson Gunderson. He had brothers Arlo, Rollo and Iver and sisters Helen and Doris. In May of 1933 the family moved to Minnesota near Jenkins where they farmed. In March of 1942 the family moved to a farm southwest of Bagley.  Nels attended a rural school in Clearwater County. 

Nels entered the Army on May 17, 1955. He took basic training in Fort Stewart, Georgia. He was honorably discharged in 1957 and then entered the Army Reserves and was fully discharged in 1963.

He married Shirley Sorenson in 1957 and they had children Kathi, Nancy, Marilyn and Judy.  Nels served as a town board supervisor in LaPrairie Township and was on the Board of Directors at the Bagley Co-op. In 1997 Nels and Shirley received the Clearwater County Valley Farmer and Homemaker Award, an honor they shared with Nels’ brother Iver and his wife Alice. 

Nels died on September 27, 2019 and is buried in Bagley City Cemetery.

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