Hollis Nappen

Hollis Nappen, 96, Mandan, died October 29, 2014, at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, Bismarck. Services will be held at 2:00 pm Saturday, November 1, 2014, at First Lutheran Church in Mandan, with Rev. Lee Herberg officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be held at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Hollis was born on August 15, 1918, in Lankin, ND, to Knute P. and Ellen J. Nelson Nappen. He attended school in Lankin and graduated from Lankin High School in 1936. He worked in road construction for Walsh County until 1940 when he enrolled at the North Dakota State School of Science, Wahpeton, ND. He transferred to the University of ND and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. From 1943-1945 he worked for Tennessee Eastman Company at Oak Ridge, TN, on a phase of Uranium enhancement for the Atomic Bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. Hollis served in the Army in the Philippines for two years after the end of WWII. After his discharge, he returned to North Dakota and was employed as a construction engineer by Westland Oil Company, Minot, ND, working there until the company dissolved. He married Theodora Anderson in Minot on June 4, 1965. In 1968, they moved to Oxnard, CA, where they owned and operated coin laundries and acquired business properties. They had one daughter who died in infancy. They retired to Montevideo, MN, in 1982. In 2006, Hollis and Theodora moved to Mandan, ND, to be closer to Bill and Leah Schott and family. Theodora passed away in 2007 and her sister Leah in 2008. Hollis had a long interest in history, having served on the board of the Chippewa County Historical Society while living in MN. Hollis was a trustee of the SHSND Foundation. Hollis provided a generous gift to establish the "Dakota Kids Tree House" that is located in the newly remodeled Heritage Center in honor of Theodora who loved children and wanted to help youngsters appreciate history. Hollis was a member of the Mandan Lions, The First Lutheran Church of Mandan, Westerners, and the Sons of Norway. Hollis was the last surviving member of the Knute P. Nappen family. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Theodora "Teddy"; his sister, Harriet Goulson; his brothers, Arthur, Kenneth, Elvin, Leslie, and Maurice. All brothers served in WWII, Arthur was killed in the war. Hollis is survived by nephew, Richard Nappen and niece, Carol Franz, both of Orlando, FL; sister-in-law, Sharon Malzer and husband, Robert Malzer, Minot, their children, Linda Staten, Karen Harrison, and Keith Malzer and brother-in-law, Bill and his wife Alice Schott, and children, Kathy Setterlund, David Schott, Melanie Willoughby and Nancy Davis. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Central Dakota Children's Choir, First Lutheran Church, and the North Dakota Historical Foundation.

Hollis Nappen

August 15, 1918 - October 29, 2014