Isabel Neilsen of San Andreas

     Isabel Neilsen, a fourth generation Calaveras resident was born January 2, 1913 and died in her home in San Andreas on Friday, June 13, 2014.  She was 101.

   Isabel was a descendent of John and Mary Barker, a young couple from Manchester, England, who emigrated to the United States in 1851 with their 9 month old daughter Phoebe- Isabels' maternal grandmother.

   They arrived in California in 1857, after spending 7 years in Independence, Missouri, Isabel's
grandmother, Phoebe married John Jackson on December 26, 1871 in Mokelumne Hill.

   Her mother Agnes was one of their six children born on Central Hill.  Agnes married William (Will) Long of Oakland on July 6, 1906 in Stockton.

   Isabel spent her early childhood in Oakland.  After her father died Isabel and her mother lived in the Susanville area until she graduated from Susanville High School, and then she moved back to Oakland to attend UC Berkeley. 

   She had one brother Roosevelt (Roosie) who died at age 2 in 1909.  In her early years, Isabel traveled by train from Oakland to Valley Springs to spend the summer with her grandmother Phoebe Jackson and he Aunt Hattie Danielson at the PJ Ranch on Central Hill in San Andreas.

   In 1948, Isabel married Raymond E. Neilsen, whose family owned the Neilsen Gravel Plant in San Andreas.

   Together they grew the business to supply concrete for decades to every major construction project in Calaveras County, including Mark Twain Medical Center, both high schools, St. Matthews Episcopal Church, Bear Valley Ski Area and the first modern airport landing field in the county.

   She and Ray were instrumental in establishing a birthing and maternity center at Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital.  They had no children themselves.

   A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Isabel taught elementary school for a number of years in the Bay Area and Northern California, ending her teaching career in Antioch.

   Her mother Agnes, Aunt Lottie Jackson and cousin Mae Danielson McQueen Glasser all were teachers in Calaveras County and other California counties.

   Isabel was an excellent craftswoman, painter, quilter and a wonderful cook.  She was a lady, with gracious manners who always sent thank-you notes and had beautiful handwriting.

   She was the type of woman who prized her independence and privacy.  She was a devoted member of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and provided altar linens for services for over 40 years.

   Isabel received the Senior Citizen of the Year in 2001 for her many years of volunteer work with Mark Twain St. Joseph's  Hospital Foundation and Auxiliary, the Mark Twain July 4th Celebration, AARP, AAUW, Calaveras Historical Society, the Calaveras Chamber of Commerce, the Republican Club and the Tri-County Mining Association (to name a few).

   She is preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Neilsen in 1991 and is survived by cousins and many friends.

   In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Calaveras Humane Society or Calaveras Habitat for Humanity.

    Visitation/Evening Service will be on Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at the San Andreas Memorial Chapel on St. Charles in San Andreas from 7 to 8 PM.

   A Requiem Mass will be held at St. Matthews Episcopal Church on Oak Street in San Andreas at 2 PM on Thursday, June 19, 2014.

   A reception will follow at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Hall.