Jane Lynn Nicolaisen, daughter of Edward and Lucille (Farnsworth) Nicolaisen was born on Feb. 9, 1958 in Winner. She grew up in Carter, and attended country school prior to attending Winner High School.
While competitive girl’s basketball may have been new to South Dakota, this sport was nothing new to this farm girl thanks to many hours spent growing up playing with her older brother and cousins.
Jane was a two sport athlete at Winner High School graduating in 1976. She was part of the first ever State Girls Basketball Tournament where she scored 70 points including one 31 point game. She was selected to the All-Tournament Team and was also selected to the All State 2nd team. She lettered in track two years and placed at the state track meet in discus.
She was recruited by Coach Curt Fredrickson to play women’s basketball at Northern State. Jane would like to remind Freddie that she gave him his first win and also his first loss. At Northern she was a three sport athlete competing in basketball, softball and volleyball. She lettered four seasons in basketball and softball and three years in volleyball. Jane was named the NSU Female Athlete of the year in 1976-1977. She scored 1,375 career points and had a 91 percent free throw average.
Long before the days of a smaller ball for girls or a three point line, Jane set records at both schools and many are still held to this day. She was named to the Northern State Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Winner High School Hall of Fame in 2013.
Following graduating in 1980 with a degree in education from Northern she went on to coach for a short time in Warner, S.D. In 1981 she began working for several agents managing the office for Northwestern Mutual in Aberdeen. Her persistence and attention to detail played a critical role in the success of agent Tootie Podoll. In June of 2015, Jane “Nic” Nicolaisen was honored with the Lifetime Service Award by Northwestern Mutual.
A practical jokester, Nic, as she was frequently called, would enjoy the opportunity to catch someone when they would least expect it. She loved being outdoors and always enjoyed softball, hunting and fishing. Outdoor activities have created many memories by her family and friends, some memories that can be shared in public and others that are best left to those that helped make them with her to remember with a smile. Jane favored western movies, old or new and she loved rainy days. In addition to her home in Aberdeen, Jane would return to her childhood home of Carter as often as time would allow.
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