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Patricia Nevala newest Packers Fan HOF member

Richard Ryman
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Patricia Nevala made a lot of trips between Menomonie and Green Bay during the last 51 years, some better than others. This one will rank among the best.

Patricia Nevala of Menomonie reacts Tuesday as she is named the 18th member of the Green Bay Packers Fan Hall of Fame at Lambeau Field.

Nevala on Tuesday was named the 18th member of the Green Bay Packers Fan Hall of Fame.

"I didn't know anything about it until after the finalists were announced and (son Jon) called me and said 'Mom, sit down,'" she said.

Nevala was raised in Thorp and attended her first Packers game in 1959, after graduating from high school. She got season tickets in 1965, the same year she and her husband, Merlin, moved to Menomonie. Until they started sharing tickets with their adult kids, they missed very few games, she said.

"Lots of trips back and forth ... good games, bad games," she said. "It's what we do. It's a family thing. It's been forever. Love it."

More than 25,000 votes were cast by Packers fans from around the world.

"It's a thrill after, like I say, these 50 years of tickets, and now I'm in this elite group of Packers backers and there's what, 18 of us? That's it. That's pretty cool. Pretty cool," she said.

Jon Nevala's nomination essay talked about his mom's dedication to the team, taking family trips to Green Bay for games, practices or "just because."

"We were so blessed to spend time in the Pontiac Grand Safari wagon and experience the aura of Packers pride through our mom," Jon wrote in his nomination. "While changes to the world of the Packers mirrors that of changes in life, one constant during that time has been the commitment and loyalty of the lady seated in Section 103, Row 32, Seat 2 to her 'boys.'"

Nevala is a lifelong Packers fan because her mother was.

"My mom was such a Packers fan. That's what we did as kids, listened to games on the radio because we didn't have TV," said Nevala, who retired as office manager of the Menomonie Fire Department after 20 years.

Nevala will receive four club seats to a 2016 Packers home game, a $500 Packers Pro Shop gift certificate, a road trip for two to a 2016 Packers away game and a one-year subscription to the Packers Plus publication. Her name will be added to a plaque in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame at Lambeau Field.

Contact rryman@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @RichRymanPG or on Facebook at Richard Ryman-Press-Gazette. Or call him at (920) 431-8342.

2016 Packers Fan Hall of Fame nominees

Chris Biermann, Cedarburg

Matt Lutsey, De Pere

Larry Schimmel, Pinckney, Mich.

Julie Franseen, Franksville

Sara Wisniewski, Milwaukee

Karen Brannen, Kaiua, Hawaii

Ryan Murray, Whitehouse Station, N.J.

Michael Steinmetz, Hannover, Germany

Patricia Nevala, Menomonie

John Holt, Tacoma, Wash.

Packers Fan Hall of Fame members

Mel Knoke, Appleton

Louis Gardipee, Black River Falls

Ed Jablonski, Wausau

Paul Mazzoleni, Green Bay

Wanda Boggs, Brookfield

Sister Isaac Jogues Rousseau, Milwaukee

Dorothy Hanke, Milwaukee

Kathy Lazzaro, Milwaukee

Rich Barbera, River Vale, N.J.

Richard "Ike" Eisenhauer, Wauwatosa

Allan Hale, Green Bay

Jim Becker, Racine

Tom Little, Mount Sterling, Ill.

Rick Steele, Greensburg, Pa.

Edward Fritsch, Sheboygan

Vivian Scherf-Laabs, Cedarburg

Steve Schumer, Gillette, N.J. 

Patricia Nevala, Menomonie