Marjorie "Midge" Louise Nienas

Marjorie Louise (Midge) Nienas died on September 2, 2016 at the age of 94 at Hatton Prairie Village, Hatton, North Dakota. Midge was born near Thompson, North Dakota on July 31, 1922. She was the middle child of six siblings born to Blanche and Arnold Nienas at the farmhouse of her paternal grandparents, also known as Sunnyside Farm. She grew up in the 30’s, during the depression, and attended country school in Grand Forks County for eight years. In order to complete high school, she went to live with relatives at Farmington, Minnesota and cared for three small children. Midge graduated from high school in 1941. She started working at 3M Company in St. Paul as a typist. Later, she became a stenographer and worked in the Building and Grounds Department of the University of Minnesota. In 1947, she accepted an assignment with the U.S. Department of the Air Force in Germany for two years. She continued working for the government for one and a half years in Japan. In 1952, Midge enrolled at the University of North Dakota, receiving her degree in Business in 1956. She wanted to begin teaching in business, but jobs were scarce in the 50’s. Her college advisor recommended a job at Wausau, Wisconsin. She taught at Wausau for three years, at which time she completed her Masters at Northwestern University. At the urging of her sister, Crystal, she returned to North Dakota and accepted a job in Fargo at Central High School. She continued teaching in Fargo for years at Ben Franklin Junior High.

She belonged to Alpha Delta Kappa and was a long time member of Fargo First United Methodist Church. She was a member of United Methodist Women and Fargo Retired Teachers Association. She was also a member of the national, state and local teachers’ associations.
She volunteered at Meritcare Hospital for eleven years, where she was active in the Reach to Recovery program.

Her hobbies and favorite projects were gardening, travel, cooking, painting, bicycling, and growing roses. She loved being an Auntie and “Grandma Midge.” Her favorite places in the whole world were Sunnyside Farm and the Oregon Coast.

Marjorie is preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Crystal Nienas, Rosalia Olson; brothers, Warren Nienas and Harold Nienas; and her niece, Deborah McGuire. She is survived by her brother, Ralph (Verle) Nienas, and her nieces and nephews, David (Claudia) Nienas, Cynthia Tredwell, Roxanne (Danial) Fabian, Steven (Angela) Olson, Mark (Gianna) Nienas, Jonathan (Cheryl) Nienas, Barbara Varela, Kimberly (Douglas) Suse, Nancy Morgan, Michael (Tamara) Nienas; sisters-in-law, Mardell Nienas and Verle Nienas and several great nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to First United Methodist Church Memorial Fund, 906 1st Ave S., Fargo, ND 58103, or the Cass County Area Retired Teachers Scholarship Fund c/o Beverly Quamme, Scholarship Chair, 3125 7th St. N., Fargo, ND 58102.