Marjorie G. (Currey) Nelson, who with her husband founded the Burnett County Sentinel, was born in a farmhouse in Ekdall, Wis., on May 10, 1924, to Walter T. and Olive M. V. Currey. After attending high school in Grantsburg, she attended Polk County Teachers College in St. Croix Falls and earned her degree at what is now UW-Superior.
While working as an elementary school teacher in Bruce, Wis., she met and married her husband, Wilbur “Bill” Nelson. They would have three children together.
In October 1962, the Nelsons moved to Burnett County, which at the time was without a weekly newspaper. Bill and Marge founded the Burnett County Sentinel in Grantsburg, and the newspaper remained in the family for the next three decades. For many years, Marge also wrote an award-winning column, “This ‘N That” for the newspaper.
When Bill Nelson died in 1975, Marge continued operating the newspaper with her son, Gary. He would later purchase her share of the business and operated the newspaper until selling in 1994.
Marjorie died Thursday, May 2, 2019, in Grantsburg. She was 94.
