Ann Ellen Seifert

Ann Ellen Seifert (Nowers) was born in Kewanee, Illinois on August 30, 1949 and passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 1, 2023 while staying with her two youngest sons in Gillette, Wyoming. Ann grew up the youngest of six children in Annawan, Illinois. She had a close relationship with her family. A bright student, after high school she attended the Mennonite School of Nursing in Bloomington, Illinois, and graduated as a registered nurse in 1970. Her first job out of nursing school was serving at the PHS Indian Hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico where her older brother Hank Nowers lived. There she lived and worked together with Judy Nisselius, a nurse from Wyoming.  Ann met Judy’s brother, Jim, while he was visiting his sister in Santa Fe. Annie and Judy later moved to Anchorage, Alaska where Jim was working in the oil fields on the North Slope. Once they were settled in Anchorage, Annie and Judy worked together at Providence Hospital in the newborn ICU. Ann and Jim grew closer and later married in February of 1973. They then had a second ceremony in Bloomington, Illinois for Ann’s family and friends in June of 1973. They lived in Anchorage until their son Matthew was born in November of 1973. Six months later in 1974, they returned to Santa Fe, New Mexico where they lived in White Rock, New Mexico. She continued to work as a nurse in nearby Los Alamos while Jim worked in the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 1978, they decided to move to Jim’s hometown of Gillette, Wyoming. In Gillette, she opened the Rainbow Shop, a craft and gift store, in 1980 in the Powder Basin Center, which she later moved downtown to the Village Square Mall. In 1981, her second son, Nathan was born and then her third son, Michael, was born in 1983. Ann made many friends in the community through the store and really enjoyed running it.  James and Ann divorced and Ann moved her two sons to Deadwood, SD in 1991. Ann loved the Black Hills where she met and married Rick Seifert, a man with a plumbing business. She lived in Deadwood until her youngest sons moved to Gillette for high school. After that she and Rick moved to Montana for work. Ann later moved to Santa Fe and lived with her sister, Susie, and worked as a traveling nurse for a time. After that she moved to Denver to be closer to her two youngest sons. Eventually, she moved back to Deadwood where she lived out the rest of her life. She loved being in the Black Hills and she loved spending time with friends and family in Deadwood. She is survived by her three sons, Matthew Nisselius (Tokyo, Japan), Nathan Nisselius (Gillette, Wyoming), and Michael Nisselius (Gillette, Wyoming) as well as her three grandchildren, Noah Nisselius (Tokyo, Japan), Mia Nisselius (Tokyo, Japan) and Emma Nisselius (Gillette, Wyoming). She is also survived by her five siblings, Carol Ouart (Kewannee, Illinois), Hank Nowers (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Arden Nowers (Sahuarita, Arizona), Karen Sierens (Annawan, Illinois), and Susie Arkell (Santa Fe, New Mexico) as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Memorials and condolences may be sent in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel 210 West 5^th Street, Gillette, WY 82716. Condolences may also be expressed at www.gilletttememorialchapel.com