Nels H. Modeen
September 20, 1943 ~ December 10, 2020
Nels Modeen, 77, died peacefully at his Olathe, Kansas home surrounded by family on Thursday, December 10th. Nels was born on September 20th, 1943 in Oklahoma City to Marvin and Jean Modeen. Nels had an older brother, Marvin Jr., and a younger sister, Margaret. After finishing high school in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Nels went on to join the U.S. Air Force where he worked in the missile siloes at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas. It was also during his time in Wichita that he met Barbara Peckham, who he married on June 11th, 1966. Nels and Barbara had two children, Deanna and Michael. Nels went on to become the District Manager and Sales Trainer for S.C. Johnson; a position that took him and his family to Chicago, Illinois, and Lenexa, Kansas. Nels was very successful in his career but was so humble that his family never really knew until they found two boxes full of his awards during their recent move back to the Kansas City area. In retirement, Nels loved spending time with his family and being outdoors. Nels was also a lover of history, which led him to the study of genealogy. One of Nels’s greatest legacies is the decades-worth of genealogy research he completed. Thanks to him, his family is now able to trace its lineage back nearly five hundred years. Nels was also deeply religious and was a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus. Nels is preceded in death by his parents, siblings, and son, Michael Modeen. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Peckham Modeen; daughter, Deanna Modeen Bergeron (Tim) of Olathe, KS; grandson, Doug (Patrick) Bartel of Kansas City, MO; granddaughter, Kayla Bartel of Leavenworth, KS; granddaughter, Kylee (Justin) Jenkins of East Lynn, MO; granddaughter, Chelsea (Tyler) Baird of Wichita Falls, TX; granddaughter, Karisa Bergeron of Shawnee, KS; goddaughter, Jayne Triplett of Kingman, AZ; niece, Laurie Lo Nigro; great-niece, Brianna Triplett of Pueblo, Colorado; great-nephew, Jordan Triplett of Omaha, NE; great-niece, Nora Lo Nigro; and twelve great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Cancer Society. A Rosary will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, December 21st, 2020, followed by a funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. at Church of The Resurrection: 4910 N. Woodlawn St., Bel Aire, KS 67226. Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.
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To the Family, I worked with Nels at SC Johnson and I am a better person because of Nels. He was a good friend and a great man. I am lucky to be able to call him a friend. Yes, Nels was the ultimate Professional, loved and respected by all that knew him. I am saddened with his passing. Steve Schroeder
Rest Nels, until you hear at dawn, the low, clear reveille of God. Thank you for your service to this nation. U.S. Air Force.
Most knew you as Nels but to me you’ll always be my Uncle Mo. Rest in peace and keep watch over us.
I want to offer my deepest sympathies to the Modeen family for the passing of Nels. I used to work for Hilt’s Inc. for seven years, five as a sales representative and sales supervisor, and then for two as co-sales manager. Hilt’s was a large distributor for Johnson Wax products and Nels came in as our Manufacturer Rep. for Johnson Wax. Among many of his duties was to ride along with the sales reps. making cold calls and working with our existing customers. Because my territory was in southern KS. we would start early and end late in the day as he rode with me making sales calls. I highly respected Nels for his great product knowledge and selling skills. He was always very friendly and warm and courteous with my customers and prospective customers, and they trusted him to be honest with them and tell them the truth. We would sometimes demonstrate our products which meant cleaning windows and mirrors, to cleaning toilets and urinals, to stripping and waxing a floor. He was a very hard worker and always had a great attitude with a smile. He told me that before he came to work for Johnson he was a State Trooper and Highway patrolman. He used to be a boxer I believe with the Golden Gloves organization, and did very well until one fight he was completely knocked out so he decided he had enough of that. Nels went into the military and was trained to be in the nuclear missile silos in Kansas, and in the case of nuclear attack was trained to retaliate towards the aggressor (Russia) which would have been a huge responsibility. He was an excellent salesman and trainer, and I valued his input on product knowledge and how to be a better salesman. Nels had a deep Christian faith as I did, and we didn’t talk about it much, but we both knew that we were created by God and that he loved us enough to send his only Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior, so that when we take our last breath and our heart beats no more, that our soul and spirit will go to be with God in heaven where there will be no more death, tears, sorrow, pain and disease, and it will be wonderful and joyful and beautiful. At sometime we will be given new and heavenly bodies, but we will still be able to recognize one another. It was an honor and a pleasure to know and spend time with Nels, and when I leave this mortal body, and I go to heaven I will look up and find and spend some hang time with my good friend Nels. To the family I wish Grace and Peace. Craig Kirby
My deepest sympathy to you Barbara and the family. Nels was my boss for a few years and was the best. I enjoyed working with him and his friendship. May he rest in peace.
I remember your Dad, Husband, G Pa when my Father owned Stark Suburban Sound. And Nels was our general manager. And I also remember him drinking Alka seltzer. And I asked him one time why do you drink so much of the Alka Seltzer he said that he like the taste of it. Sincerely Charles Stark