Hugh Nierengarten

Hugh Thomas Nieren-garten, 71, died February 12, 2023, in Minneapolis, of cancer. He is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Julia Nieren-garten and Jason Buck-man of Min-neapolis, and Kristin Nierengar-ten and Thomas Harwood of Northfield. He is also survived by his four beloved grandchildren, Eris Nieren-garten Buckman, Mara Nie-rengarten Harwood, Cosmo Nierengarten Buckman, and Tabitha Nierengarten Har-wood. Hugh was born in New Ulm, in 1951. He gradu-ated from New Ulm High School in the infamous class of 1969, where he was an active participant in debate and drama. He went on to the University of Minne-sota, Minneapolis, graduat-ing with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. From there, he earned a Juris Doctor from William Mitch-ell College of Law, where he met his wife of 45 years, Susan (Ulstrom) Nierengar-ten.In 1977, Hugh convinced Susan to return to New Ulm with him, where they joined his father Ed’s law practice. They were later joined in the firm by Hugh’s life-long friend Roger Hippert, prac-ticing together for almost three decades as Nierengar-ten & Hippert, Ltd. While a jack of all legal trades, Hugh served as New Ulm City At-torney from 1982 until his semi-retirement in 2014.In addition to his legal work, Hugh prided himself on his community involve-ment, serving on the boards of directors of Leo H. Hoff-man Center; Peacepipe Girl Scout Council; Heritagefest, Inc.; United Prairie Bank – New Ulm; and Univer-sity of Minnesota College of Continuing Education – Osher Lifelong Institute and as a member of the Ro-tary Club of New Ulm and dedicated volunteer judge for High School Mock Trial and Urban Debate League. No stranger to cancer, Hugh never let this define him, but rather used his experi-ence as a patient to inform many of his public-service pursuits, including serving on the boards of directors of Ridgeway Assisted Liv-ing – Community Advisory Board; New Ulm Medical Center; ClearWay Minne-sota; Allina Health System; and the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. Although an impassioned attorney and community leader, Hugh was first and foremost devoted to his family. Among his favor-ite past-times was traveling with family, taking road trips with Susan and their children each summer, ul-timately driving to all 49 continental US states, all Canadian provinces, and half the Mexican states. This is in addition to inter-national travel, which took Hugh and Susan to Central and South America, Europe, China, and New Zealand. In 2007, the family established an outpost in the Rocky Mountains at Storm Moun-tain, CO. Hugh delighted in his four grandchildren, who fondly called him “Nagus” and who he duly tasked with carrying the Nierengarten legacy into the next century.An avid student of his-tory, Hugh’s reading tastes always sided with non-fic-tion. He eschewed novels as a lesser source of knowl-edge. He also carried on his father’s passion for genea-logical research, compiling extensive family data dating back over several centu-ries for both his family and Susan’s. Much to the cha-grin of his children, despite Hugh’s endless quest for greater knowledge, he never graduated past drinking skunky beer, believing, erro-neously, that being imported made it superior.In addition to his chil-dren and grandchildren, Hugh is survived by siblings and their spouses, Edward (Tony) Nierengarten, Jr. and Doris; Catherine (Kitz) Nierengarten Cleary and Jo-seph Kerr; Barbara (Beej) Nierengarten-Smith and James Smith; Mark Nieren-garten and Susan.; Nicho-las Nierengarten and Leah Hauge. He is also survived by sisters-in-law and their spouses, Jane (Ulstrom) Brissett and Paul; Cynthia (Ulstrom) Bulwicz and Ste-ven, along with numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews. Hugh enjoyed special rela-tionships with each of his five siblings. He particularly relished hunting adventures with his much older brother Mark, pursuing critters all over North America – often with success and never with-out tall tales.Hugh was preceded in death by his beloved wife Susan; parents Edward Nie-rengarten, Sr. and Catherine (Winter) Nierengarten; and brother Gabriel Nierengar-ten.A private family gath-ering to remember Hugh will be held at a future date. Memorials may be sent to National Park Foundation, Planned Parenthood North Central States, or the Minne-apolis Heart Institute Foun-dation.Hugh’s family would like to extend a special thanks to the health care profession-als at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and, particularly, at J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice, who treated him with great care, respect, and dignity, and – most impor-tantly – helped him live the end of his life in the man-ner he wanted, with cheap brandy, good food, and surrounded by family and friends. We will be forever grateful for the care and compassion they showed Hugh and his family.