2021 Stars Over 70

Thank you to Belle Plaine High School's Creative Writing Class for the Stars' bios that appeared in the Star Press Union.
Nelsene Beck

Nelsene Beck has celebrated 57 years of marriage with her husband Richard. She is the mother of five children: Gina, Shawn (in Heaven), Stephen, Michael, and Wesley. She is a dedicated volunteer, and lifelong area resident, spends much of her time working for Belle Plaine and for others in the community. That work takes many forms. For example, among her other accomplishments, she was an associate teacher at Noah Ark’s Preschool and a paraeducator at Longfellow Elementary, and though retired, she is still subbing. 

 A few of the many volunteer jobs Nelsene has taken on are being a member of the library board (where she still serves), helping at the community center, doing many Relays for Life for the American Cancer Association, working at church camp as a counselor, walking for fundraisers, working for many years at a voting precinct, and volunteering for Fun in the Sun. She has been a Cub Scout Leader, a Boy Scout Leader, and a Pioneer Girl Leader.
She helped with the United Methodist Youth for several years. She has donated over 7 gallons of blood to the Red Cross. During the pandemic, she sewed masks for people in the community and for the veterans in the Marshalltown Veterans Home. In the aftermath of the derecho, she opened her home to the volunteers helping with cleanup.

Nelsene took on the job of helping to recruit artists for the Park It! book, and drew several illustrations herself for the publication, illustrations that not only enhanced stories in the book, but which have since been exhibited in Belle Plaine, in the Gold Star Museum in Des Moines, the Little Brown Church, the Camp POW Museum in Algona, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville, the State Masonic Museum and Library, the Iowa Transportation Museum, and the Grout Museum District in Waterloo.

Nelsene is a member of the Benton County Volunteer Program who meet regularly at the BP Community Center and work tirelessly to enrich the lives of others in the Belle Plaine area.  Nelsene’s accomplishments, while many, are exceeded by her care and concern for others in her family and community. Truly, she is a Belle Plaine Star.
Lavonne Luck

LaVonne was born in Manchester, Iowa, and grew up on a nearby farm.  
While not born in Belle Plaine, this community became her home long ago as she and her husband Vern raised their three children in Belle Plaine. In many ways, LaVonne’s bio shows a woman who was ahead of her time and a true role model for women who followed. She worked for years as a self-employed businesswoman here, running her own upholstery business from her house. She and her husband, Vern, after retirement, joined their son and his family in Arkansas where they helped with Little Britches Rodeo and operated the rodeo’s concession stand.  After she lost Vern, LaVonne continued to run the stand on her own for awhile before returning to Iowa and taking up residence in Belle Plaine.
Back here again, she could not stay idle. She became active again in the Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Women in Mission. Indeed, her faith is the guiding principle of her life, and one of the reasons for her volunteer work and for giving back to the community. A few examples of her contributions include—working with the Benton County volunteers every Wednesday at the Community Center making gifts for area children and senior citizens. She also volunteers to drive people to medical appointments in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Marengo. For ten years now, she has been a hospice volunteer for several area hospice services. She has helped her daughter and son-in-law, Tricia and Matt Spading, raise money for relief in Haiti. LaVonne is a true Star for all she does for others and for the Belle Plaine community. 


Marilyn Sokol

Marilyn Sokol grew up on a farm south of Tama but she moved to Belle Plaine in 1969 and has lived in BP since then.  For many years now, Marilyn has spent her time giving back to this community. For over 15 years, she has worked at the Belle Plaine Community Center.  She coordinates the food baskets for the schools and baskets for senior citizens, many of which go to all of south Benton County. She organizes the work of twelve to fifteen Belle Plaine volunteers every Wednesday. The volunteers make the angels used on Belle Plaine’s Trees of Sharing during the Christmas holiday season, angels that indicate gifts citizens can donate for those in need.They also make welcome-back gifts for elementary students returning to school, as well as gifts for holidays during the year and to wish them well over summer break. Currently, Marilyn is overseeing the distribution of a room full of toys donated by Dollar General for families in need.
She and the volunteers send cards to veterans from Belle Plaine who are in nursing homes.  Each month they make 25 pillows for St. Lukes heart patients patients. They make underarm pillows for Halperon Center breast cancer patients.  Every month and on holidays, they take treats to the nursing home in Belle Plaine.   
  
In addition to her work at the community center and with the volunteers, she drives patients to doctor appointments through the Benton County program, a practice she not only continued but increased during the pandemic because the need was so great.
Unsurprisingly, in 2014, Marilyn received the Outstanding Senior Volunteer from the Heritage area Agency on Aging in Benton County.

Marilyn’s grandmother advised her to “Do unto others what you want them to do unto you.”  It’s advice she has always tried to live her life that way.  And a big part of why she is a Star.

Nadine Thomasson

Nadine Thomasson has spent large portions of her life giving back to not only the Belle Plaine Community but the people of the surrounding areas, as well. Although she is originally not from Belle Plaine, she fell in love with the town years ago and it has been home ever since.

Nadine attended the University of Northern Iowa for her college education where she met and married Howard Thomasson who came to Belle Plaine as a dentist.  They raised their family here, and Nadine often substituted in the Belle Plaine Schools.

Nadine has spent years giving in many ways throughout the community and with groups.  She spent years developing the Red Cross swimming lesson program at the Belle Plaine pool, giving children in the area the opportunity to learn how to swim safely. She eventually became the head lifeguard until the pool was remodeled. 
She also worked at the library in Belle Plaine and was the first one to put books into the computer for people to find. She organized educational talks at the library. She spearheaded reading programs that challenged young minds to achieve goals beyond their own expectations. She searched tirelessly for new books for the library to keep community residents active and engaged in the library.

Nadine has been a longtime member of the First Congregational Church in Belle Plaine and has served on many boards and committees in the church. She is also one of the Benton County volunteers. Nadine has been a role model for all of us by living a life of service before self. Putting the betterment of the community above individual concerns.

Dick Wells

Dick Wells grew up in Grinnell, Iowa.  He attended Grinnell High School and Iowa State College.  After college, he was a salesman for a fertilizer company, which involved calling on elevators, feed stores etc. He spent 4 years living and working in Oelwein and another 4 ½ years in Illinois.  At this point, he returned to is home state of Iowa to become a farmer, working several farms in the Belle Plaine area, finally ending up farming in Hartwick.  In 1983, he quit farming and began his own commodity business. In the fall of 1985, he went to work as a branch manager of the Farmers 4-County Coop in Hartwick. In 1990, he took a sales job with Farm Bureau insurance in Tama County.  He retired from Farm Bureau in 2005. 
With over three decades as a Belle Plaine resident, Dick has been very active in the community, frequently volunteering his time and talents. The First Lutheran Church has certainly benefited from his volunteerism, as he has held several offices and been on several church boards. To name just a few other of his contributions to the community, he has been on the Belle Plaine City Council, Community Center Board of Trustees, the Belle Plaine Library Foundation, and the Belle Plaine City Tree Board.  A 50-year member of the Lions Club, he has held office several times in that organization, and he has also been active in working on the 4th of July celebration and pancake breakfast fundraisers.  For 10 years, he was co-chair of the Belle Plaine Partners for Beautification, as well as a Benton County Master Gardener. He has also delivered Meals on Wheels for 14 years. For his many contributions and example he set for others, Dick is truly a star