Elvira "Vera" Nieland's Obituary
Elvira (Vera) Nieland passed away peacefully at 3:25 AM on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at the Majestic Care Nursing Home in Crown Point Indiana. She was 102 years old.
Vera was born on August 12, 1923 on her family’s farm in Rich Township, Cook County, Illinois during a severe thunderstorm. She was the second of the three children of Friedrich (Fred) Wilhelm Karl and Lena Sophia Wilhelmine (Sander) Stuckey. After completing her sophomore year at Joliet Township High School, Vera decided to attend a vocational school in Joliet to become a beautician, and she worked in this field until she retired later in life. When she was 17, her older sister (Bernie) got married and Vera was her Maid of Honor. A few weeks later, her sister and new brother-in-law organized a post-wedding party at Monee Danceland, where Vera met her future husband, Glenn Nieland. They were married 16 months later on April 5, 1942 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Frankfort, Illinois, just five days before Glenn reported to the Army Induction Center in Chicago and was assigned to an artillery battalion in the U.S. Army. While Glenn was away at military training camps in the U.S. and later in active-duty service in Europe during World War II, Vera stayed with Glenn’s parents and gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Phyllis.
At the end of 1945, Vera and Glenn were reunited in Illinois and would be married to each other for 72 years. Two sons joined the family in the 1950’s. In 1993, Vera and Glenn moved to Fort Myers, Florida, where they remained active at their local church and organizations like the VFW, Moose and Elks. Glenn died in 2014 and Vera moved back to the Midwest to be closer to family living nearby.
Vera is survived by her daughter, Phyllis Conway, her sons Robert and Richard Nieland, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren She also leaves behind a large extended family.
Vera will be laid to rest next to Glenn at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Cremation Service was entrusted to Hillside Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Highland, Indiana.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Elvira Magdalene Nieland, please visit https://www.hillsidefhcares.com/obituary/Elvira-Nieland.
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