Marbeth "Beth" Nyquist

Marbeth “Beth” Nyquist, one of a kind wife, mother, and grandmother passed away at the age of 76 at Avera Sister James Care Center in Yankton, South Dakota, on November 24, 2023.

A memorial service will be 10:30 AM, on December 15, 2023, at First United Methodist Church in Yankton, South Dakota, with Reverend Katie Ricke officiating.  Burial will be at a later date in Randall Valley Cemetery in Fort Randall, South Dakota.  The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 6:00 PM on December 14, 2023, at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton, South Dakota.

Marbeth “Beth” was welcomed into this world on February 7, 1947, by Wayne and Dorothy (Noffsinger) Molstad. She grew up on the family farm outside of Moville, Iowa, learning all the traditional homemaking skills from her mother, as well as participating in 4H for several years. After graduating from Moville High School, she realized that farm life was not for her. She wanted to make her own path in the world.  She moved to Sioux City to attend Nettleton Community College, studying bookkeeping. 

After finishing school, Beth moved to Yankton, SD. She began working at the Kochi Hotel. Beth then moved on to Gurney’s Seed & Nursery as a bookkeeper. Later, she worked as a bookkeeper at the Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health Center.  After several years, while raising her family, Beth opened her own in-home daycare.  After almost 10 years, she started working at Kmart. Beth worked at Kmart, both in Yankton and in Spencer, Iowa. She then went back to school to earn another associates degree which led to her last career as an office manager at a small manufacturing company in Sioux Rapids, IA before retiring.

During her time at the Kochi, she met her future husband, Charles (Chuck) Nyquist. Beth and Chuck married on March 13, 1971, in a small ceremony at the United Methodist Church in Moville.  They adventured together throughout the rest of their lives, culminating with their trip to Hawaii for their 40^th wedding anniversary.  Early in their marriage, they loved to travel around the area. They would go to the shooting range and ride their red and green mopeds around the neighborhood. They were teammates on bowling leagues until they could no longer physically maintain the activity and enjoyed playing pinochle together with friends.  They had two daughters together, Chrissie and Molly.  Their family enjoyed traveling on summer vacations outside the Yankton area, as well as boating and camping in and around the area. 

Beth had a creative heart. She loved sharing her gift by creating crafts and gifts for her friends and family. She was always saving odds and ends along with clippings from magazines for all of the projects she wanted to make. As a proud lefty, Beth had beautiful penmanship and was happy to share her gift of Calligraphy whenever she could. 

Beth’s green thumb took her back to her roots. She loved house plants and gardening. Not everyone in the family was gifted with a green thumb. Beth became an expert plant rescuer, reviving several plants that may have belonged to one of her daughters.  She would share her propagated plants, produce and canned items with others. Later in life, her garden was filled with her favorite flowers. Her flower gardens brought her so much joy and were a topic of conversation each spring. 

Beth was also an exceptional baker.  Her homemade cinnamon and caramel rolls were a favorite.  It was always a delight when she would make them for special occasions.  She liked to bake during the holiday season, making anything from rosettes to Oreo balls and everything in between. She made enough cookies and goodies to feed an army. 

Beth loved to have long conversations and connect with others.  She was clever with a quick wit and loved to laugh.  This shone through especially during the last years of her life.  She would always have a story to share and they were usually quite entertaining.  And, she didn’t miss the opportunity to respond with a quick and witty one-liner when presented with a question.  Her gift of easy conversations made her an expert at the Midwestern goodbye. You would say “Good-bye” at least three times (usually more) before you would actually leave.  She didn’t want the good times to end. 

Beth was active as a Girl Scout leader for her daughter’s troop.  She was active in the United Methodist Church from helping with children, holding leadership roles and holding office in United Methodist Women.  She was an active member in her extension club, the Busy Belles. She had so much fun with the ladies dressing up, meeting up, building relationships with families, and especially traveling to Brookings every summer for “University Week for Women”.   She was a member of the VFW Auxiliary when she moved back to Yankton.  Being with and helping people filled her with joy and purpose.  Beth loved to laugh and make others laugh. Her determination and generosity can be seen throughout her life.

She is survived by her husband Charles, children Chrissie (Al) Wieseler, and Molly (Brent) Petersen. Her six grandchildren Alex, Bailey, Owen Wieseler along with Oliver, Axel, and Rex Petersen. Her siblings Sarah (Eldon) Meissner, Linda Robeson, David Molstad, and Dan Molstad; and several nieces and nephews.