On Monday, April 27, 2020, Elmer A. Nienow, age 93, walked up the staircase to Heaven to meet his Lord and be reunited with the love of his life, Polly. Elmer was born on April 2, 1927 in Pine River, WI, the son of Arthur and Edna Nienow. He graduated from Merrill High School and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served his country in the Pacific until the end of WWII.

Upon returning from the Navy, he was employed by Standard Oil in Merrill. It was there that he first met Polly who had stopped in to get a flat tire fixed. It was love at first sight. On August 5, 1950, Elmer and Polly were married at Trinity Lutheran Church. They later moved to Green Bay for Elmer's job and together raised nine children.

In addition to Standard Oil, Elmer worked for a number of lumber companies in a sales capacity until he started his own garage door company, Elmer's Installation Service which later became Nienow's Garage Door Service. Elmer was actively involved in his church, Redeemer Lutheran, and served as the Treasurer for many years. He and Polly were also part of the Welcoming Committee at church.

Elmer had many hobbies which included woodworking, archery, bow hunting, trout stream fishing, and working on his model train but his favorite was going north to the cabin with Mom to enjoy the outdoors and watch wildlife come into their yard. He built many customized wedding card boxes for family members as well as trophies and awards for Redeemer Lutheran School.

Elmer is survived by seven children: Ann (Dave) Jones, John (Sherry) Nienow, Julie (Randy) Krause, Joel (Sue Ellen) Nienow, Tom Nienow, Allen (Susan) Nienow, Steve Nienow; 14 grandchildren: Dawn (Zak) Esterling, Holly (Jesse) Mertens, Gregory Cartier, Abby (Tommy) Boelter, Brandon Nienow, Patrick (Beth) Nienow, Alicia (Matthew) Hafenbrack, Doug (Bliss) Krause, Kathy (Abe) Farley, Sean-Wesley (Katie) Nienow, Shane Nienow, Ryan (Sarah) Wittlinger, Dale Nienow, Adam Nienow; great-grandchildren: Kaitlyn, Jacob, Blake, Chase, Mason, Julian, MacKenzie, Brianna, Ethan, Cassandra and Elizabeth; brother, Roger Nienow; and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Polly; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Rollie and Barb Nienow and David Nienow; grandson, Shawn-Michael Nienow; his parents; and two sisters, Evelyn Schlief and Helen Berndt.

Visitation will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 210 S. Oneida, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 5. Memorial Service will take place at 6:30 p.m. The Memorial Service will be viewable online at redeemerlutherangb.com or Redeemer Lutheran Green Bay on Facebook. To leave online condolences, please go to www.BlaneyFuneralHome.com . In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Redeemer Lutheran Church, 210 S. Oneida St., Green Bay, WI. 54303.