Theone Laron Niska

In the presence of her loving family, Theone “Toni” Niska passed away On November 2, 2023, after a long struggle with vascular dementia. Toni was born on October 4, 1931, in Fargo, North Dakota to Leonard Nelson and Tilda Nygaard. She grew up in Fargo by the Red River with an outdoor staking rink in the back yard and dreamed of becoming an Olympic ice skater. Her family had a cottage on Lake Melissa and Toni had happy memories of summer days spent fishing and swimming at the lake. Her family moved to the small town of Rogers, North Dakota when she was a sophomore in high school. She was active playing basketball and track lettering in both. She was class secretary and was on the drama, glee, 4H, and pep clubs along with serving on the yearbook committee.

After graduating from high school in 1949, she went to Valley City College to become a teacher but decided to go to nursing school with her sister, Joanne. To earn money for her education, Toni worked in the hospital kitchen and took care of the polio patients. She graduated from Deaconess Hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakote with her registered nursing (RN) degree in 1955. Her first nursing job was at the Lutheran Hospital in Bemidji, Minnesota.

She met her husband, Elmer Niska, on a blind date in Bemidji, Minnesota where she was working as a nurse. Elmer and Toni were married on September 9, 1956, in Fargo, North Dakota at Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church. They moved to Estacada, Oregon in 1960, and she stayed home to raise her son Mike. After one year, they moved to Hillsboro, Oregon and she began working as an emergency room nurse at Tuality Community Hospital eventually transferring to the medical/surgical floor. When the hospital opened a coronary care unit, Toni learned how to read EKGs and she completed coronary care training in 1973. She was one of the first nurses to work in the coronary care unit. After several more years, she decided to work for a prominent surgeon, Dr. Marvin Robb in private practice.

Toni kept busy with her family and friends. She enjoyed many hobbies including knitting, needlepoint, ceramics, bridge, pinochle, bunco, and she was a lifetime member of the Elks. She had several passions including golfing and square dancing. Toni and Elmer were able to share their love of square dancing by performing on a cruise to Alaska with their square dance friends.

After retirement in 1990, Toni and Elmer enjoyed their RVs and traveling to Arizona for the winter. They spent several summers as park hosts at lighthouses and For Stevens along the Oregon coast. They also enjoyed camping with their square dance friends. Toni loved going on cruises including two cruises to Alaska with her children and grandchildren. They also went on cruises to the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, and Scandinavia/Russia.

Toni is survived by her loving children, Mike Niska (Rhonda) and Nancy Driesner (Mark) along with her three grandchildren (Tori Miletich (Erik), Justin Driesner, and Nathan Driesner.) She is also survived by her sister, Karen Durnham. She was preceded in death by her husband Elmer Niska, son Robert and sisters, Dorothy Hildebrant, Joanne Dekrey, Barbara Currie and her brother Noel Nelson.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m. Monday, November 20, 2023, at Fir Lawn Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 1070 West Main St. Hillsboro, OR 97123. A private burial will take place at Willamette National Cemetery.