Reports of Daniel Neilson's death were greatly exaggerated

"Oh!" mother smiled with elation from her hospital bed, "It's Danny!"
It was great hearing Mom say it that way because, at once, it proved she was still sharp as a tack and capable of joy.
Mother was flat on her back after a nasty fall that was causing her great pain. Family members were coming by to see her last Saturday, filing in, not sure what to expect. Mom was happy to see everyone, including Danny.

At age 68, Dan Neilson is one of the newer members of Mom's extended family.

Dan is Kathleen Rolfsrud's older brother. Kathleen lost her younger brother, James John, to a heart attack about 13 years ago. Kathleen's older sister, Mary Lou Brewer, (photo) lives in Durango, Colorado, with her husband, David.
Dan retired from Brown & Bigelow four years ago. He worked there 35 years and earned a pension. We're not exactly sure what he did there, but early on it involved a forklift, because an accident with one fractured his pelvis. Kathleen was truly amazed by all the friends Dan had made who took time to see him during his hospital stay.

Midtown Dan
Dan is a bachelor who lived with his mother, Florence, until she went into a nursing home and died last year at age 99. We sold their St. Paul house and now Dan lives in the Chicago Lofts at Midtown in the renovated Sears building in Minneapolis, on the 10th floor. He's hardly ever home.
That's because Dan has places to go and people to see. He visits coffee shops, restaurants, parks, churches, malls, ball fields, uptown and downtown where he makes friends easily with his unassuming, gentle manner.

He has never had a car, he travels by city limousine, knows all the routes, has a bus pass and knows how to get anywhere he wants to go. His new home is 10 stories above the City Transit Center, so, you might say, his world is at his feet.

Naturally, he's quite well-known with the regulars and the vendors at the Midtown Global Market downstairs. And he's popular with the guards, who will often find donuts and treats at their work stations. He loves handing out calendars and ball schedules as an ambassador for his Minnesota Twins. His generosity extends to Africa, where's he's "adopted" a young girl, to his church, to his neighbors, street musicians, to anybody who needs a lift. Stan and Kathleen have had to coach him how to get off of "sucker lists" where his name and address and phone number result in constant pleas from professional beggers.

No truth to the rumor

His change of address resulted in some changes in his haunts. Formerly a regular at the "Artist's Grind" coffee shop on University Ave in St. Paul, he doesn't get there much any more. That has resulted in a rumor that Dan has died. Dan chuckles about it and says he'll just have to get over there sometime and stomp that out.

Dan is a devout Roman Catholic. His prayer book has been thumbed almost beyond recognition. He observes Holy Days, Days of Obligation, goes to confession, never misses mass. His loft connects by heated skyway to the massive Abbott-Northwestern-Children's Hospital complex and he has discovered the chapel over there and is acquainted with the priest. That's a good thing, because a blizzard wouldn't otherwise keep Dan from venturing outdoors to Mass.

He's also discovered the cafeteria over there. It's about three indoor blocks away, but he says he needs the exercise. We're also happy that he has located the emergency room. Dan has never had a heart attack, but he's had a double bypass and a heart valve replacement. So we worry about him, but know that good help is close by, should he ever need it. Some of Dan's neighbors are doctors who practice at the hospitals.

Mother and Dan connected again when he came to Thanksgiving Dinner last year.

Ironically, Dan's roots go way back to Alexandria. He and Jim and his father fished the lakes during summers decades ago. Forada was a favorite. Recently Dan and Kathleen had a warm reunion with the woman who ran the Forada cottages (photo, left).

They fished long and hard back then, hoping to catch and freeze enough sunfish to feed the entire neighborhood in St. Paul. That genuine spirit of generosity may have been his father's greatest gift, because it lives on in Dan today.