Nelda I. Manter, 91, passed away peacefully on October 11th, 2025, with family present. She was born in Indiana, grew up on a farm, and was the first woman in her family to graduate from college, going on to earn a master’s degree in mathematics. She was employed as a math teacher in Illinois and Indiana before moving to Wisconsin, where she conducted a pre-school in her home for eleven years. Ultimately, she worked at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as the math specialist in Student Support Services for twenty-seven years, before retiring at the age of 71. Throughout her long career, Nelda touched the lives of countless students as she expertly guided them through their difficulties with math.

Nelda married her high school classmate Paul Manter. The couple relocated to Wisconsin and bought a home on Lake Neshonoc, where they raised four children. Their beautiful lakefront property was Nelda’s pride and joy. It was the scene of many summer beach parties and winter sledding/skating parties. Amazingly, Nelda didn’t learn to swim until she was an adult living at her lake home, and she then became a certified lifeguard so everyone would be safe at her beach.

Nelda valued hard work, and she carried that work ethic into everything she did, especially at her church. She hosted couples club events and church family outings. She also taught Sunday School, helped with church rummage sales, led the church’s Bingo outreach, and contributed her time to numerous committees. She was very active in the Presbyterian Women organization, where she served as treasurer for many years. In her community, Nelda led Girl Scouts, hosted Cub Scout meetings, and sewed costumes for several high school theater productions.

Nelda was a devoted grandmother, and one of her great delights was her grandchildren’s frequent visits for lake fun, rummage sale-ing, and Grandma’s cooking. Special favorites were her spaghetti (made from tomatoes she grew herself) and her raspberry jam (made from raspberries she grew herself). An avid gardener, Nelda maintained a large and productive garden through her 89th year; she spent many happy (and messy) days in the kitchen canning its output. Throughout her life, Nelda also doted on a few cats and numerous dogs, most especially her “favorite daughter,” a black lab named Rainbow.

Nelda loved to travel, taking advantage of summers off from work by orchestrating many family camping trips throughout the U.S. When exchange student Nena’s year ended, Nelda packed the entire family up for a roadtrip to Mexico to take Nena home. After Nelda’s retirement, she and Paul traveled widely with extended family and many friends. They gathered their adult children, spouses, and families for large group vacations. Nelda loved going on cruises and visiting different locations, but her favorite place was definitely her home on Lake Neshonoc, where she lived for more than 50 years.

Nelda is survived by three children and their spouses: Valerie (Bruce), Vernon (Dawn), Venitha (Jim); son-in-law, Jeff; brother Melvin (Janet), sister-in-law Nancy; seven grandchildren: Kalyn (Ryan), Kendra, Jake, Zoe, Sadie, and two others; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul, and youngest daughter, Vadrian.

A memorial service will be held at the Presbyterian Church of West Salem at 3:00pm on Saturday, December 27, with pastor Dan McCurdy officiating. Visitation will be held from 2:00pm until the time of service. Memorial contributions may be given to the Presbyterian Church of West Salem, to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org), or to Breakthrough T1D (www.breakthrought1d.org).