Florence Wilma (Nyquist) Walters, 94, passed over peacefully at her family farm on August 20, 2026, surrounded by her loving family.
Florence was born October 1, 1931, near her family’s farm east of Hemingford, Nebraska, to Aron Fabian and Wilma Beulah (Dye) Nyquist. Her father had come to Nebraska from Sweden in his twenties and met her mother while helping on a ranch growing and harvesting potatoes. As he learned English and learned how to farm in Western Nebraska, he had a special name for his firstborn daughter—he called her “Toots.” The name stuck, and to many neighbors and friends, Toots was the only name they ever knew.
Florence attended a rural country school and later Hemingford High School. During her junior year, the neighbor boy down the road, Jerry Melvin Walters, had returned home following his World War II service. It wasn’t long before Florence decided she had found something more important than high school. She and Jerry were married on February 26, 1948. Florence continued working toward her high school diploma from home and proudly celebrated many years with the Hemingford Alumni Class of 1949.
Together, Florence and Jerry devoted their lives to building their farm and spent 68 years side by side in marriage. They both worked several jobs away from the farm to buy land and make it through the tough years when there was no crop. Florence was never afraid of hard work. She loved being in the field driving tractor, and during harvest she could be found behind the wheel of a truck hauling grain to town.
She never met a stranger, and through all of her different jobs she loved meeting new people and visiting with everyone along the way. Some may remember Florence from Woolworth’s, from her years selling Avon, or from the many beet harvests she spent weighing trucks. Wherever she went, a simple hello could easily turn into a long conversation and a new friend.
In 1952, Florence and Jerry welcomed their son, Leslie (Les) Alan, and in 1956 their daughter, Lenora (Lenni) Ann was born.
Florence kept good track of her kids, your kids and the neighbors’ kids. Then came the grandchildren—Tanya, Alisa, Brook and Travis—followed by the great-grandchildren, and she was fortunate enough to meet and get to know several of her great-great-grandchildren.
Her family was her greatest pride. She loved taking them camping and, just as importantly, making sure everyone knew how to play cards and board games. Pinochle, Pitch, Liverpool Rummy, 3-13, Cutthroat, dominoes and Yahtzee were just a few of her favorites. If you sat down at the table with Florence, you could expect plenty of laughter, a little competition and a very real possibility that she was going to beat you.
She loved watching the baby calves from her west window, feeding the birds and making sure the squirrels stayed fat and happy. She loved the farm, the people around her and the simple pleasures that came with both.
When Florence and Jerry moved into Hemingford and made their home at Apollo Courts in 2011, Florence’s social calendar only got busier. She played cards three days a week with her many friends and neighbors in town and looked forward to Taco Nights at the Legion with her best friend, Virginia. For a woman who never met a stranger, life in town simply gave her even more people to visit with.
Florence lived an adventurous life and passed along that same fun-loving spark and zest for life to her entire family. She was a wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, aunt, neighbor, friend and the steady heart of a family that will feel her presence for generations to come.
She leaves behind a lifetime of stories, laughter, card games, camping trips, farm memories and people who were better for having known her.
Florence was preceded in death by her husband, Jerry; her parents, Aron and Wilma Nyquist; her son, Leslie (Les) Walters; and her brother, Carl Nyquist.
She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lenni and Tim Johnson of Hemingford; grandchildren Tanya Walters, Alisa (Chad) Jones and Travis Walters, all of Sioux City, Iowa, Sara (Joe) Peneton of Arvada, Colorado, and Brook and Brian Johnson of Hemingford; her sister-in-law, Karol Nyquist of Scottsbluff; niece Shelley Sorensen (Mike Manheim) and nephew Jeff Nyquist of Lincoln.
Florence is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Alexandra and Samantha Allen, Effie Bentancourt, Tasha Franco, Alanna, Conner and Logan Walters, Grand, Harlo and Flora Johnson; as well as the seven great-great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life for Florence will be held Friday, September 25, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. A graveside service will be held at the Hemingford Cemetery, with food, fellowship and fun following at American Legion Post #9—a fitting way to celebrate a woman who spent nearly 95 years working hard, loving her family, visiting with everyone she met and making sure there was always time for a little fun.
Memorials may be made in Florence’s honor to Hemingford Preschool, St. John’s Preschool or the Hemingford Volunteer Fire Department.
Online condolences may be left at www.batesgould.com. Bates-Gould Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.