Passing the Baton

Her Family Nurtured Her Grit and Love for Nature; Now She’s Giving Back

By Robyn Murray

Kellie Theiss traces nearly everything she values back to Nebraska.

Born on a farm in northeast Nebraska, Kellie, a Burnett Society member, grew up surrounded by land and family who instilled in her a love of nature, art and learning. Her grandmother was an artist, her father worked the land and her mother was an educator. (She was named Nebraska Teacher of the Year and was a proud University of Nebraska–Lincoln booster for women’s basketball and volleyball.) Meanwhile, her grandfather — whom she describes as “like Euell Gibbons,” an outdoorsman who wrote about nature — taught all of his grandchildren about plants, roots, insects and the interconnectedness of the natural world. (Her grandfather was one of the first appointed agricultural consultants for Dixon County and did this while farming his own land.)

“I’m a complete nature nerd,” Kellie said, “thanks to my upbringing in Nebraska.”

It was an immersive education, and the influences of her family and her Nebraska roots continue to shape her life. Today, after a career that includes teaching, writing and art gallery ownership, Kellie is a professional artist with four paintings in the collections of two major U.S. museums. She lives in Minnesota where she applies the same principle she learned as a portraitist — that an artist cannot create a portrait if they haven’t spent time with their subject. As a nature artist, she spends part of her time in an off-the-grid cabin in northern Minnesota, where she occasionally encounters bears and wolves so that she can immerse herself in nature and capture it on the canvas. It’s another feat she attributes to her Nebraska roots: “I couldn’t do this if I didn’t have the grit I got growing up,” she said.

‘It’s Both Sophisticated and Wholesome’

Kellie attended Lincoln High School after moving from northeast Nebraska to Lincoln at age 10 and later became a Husker at UNL. By the time she arrived on campus, the university already felt familiar. Both of her grandparents attended UNL in the 1930s, making Kellie part of a four-generation Husker legacy that includes an uncle and a nephew.

At UNL, Kellie studied art in pursuit of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in education, and she knew she was exactly where she belonged. She never felt like “just a number.” Instead, she found a community that genuinely cared. One professor in particular, Dan Howard, left a lasting impression. His humor and mentorship gave Kellie confidence. “That was invaluable,” she said. “He assisted me in finding real, solid goals for myself.”

Kellie loved the whole experience of being a student at UNL. “It’s both sophisticated and wholesome at the same time,” she said. “And no place in the world can you pull that off except in Nebraska.”

During her third year, Kellie received a university stipend to support her education, which she said made a huge difference to her. “It just brought me so much joy and also confirmed the direction that I was going,” she said.

Now, as she enters what she calls “the fourth quarter of life,” Kellie is considering the next generation. Working with the University of Nebraska Foundation, Kellie set up a planned gift to provide scholarships for students from rural Nebraska counties pursuing degrees in natural sciences or fine arts at UNL.

Describing her plans, she avoids the word “gift.” Instead, she thinks in terms of continuity. A member of Husker Nation, Kellie said making a gift to support UNL students is her way of helping the next generation move forward with their goals. “I prefer to think of it as a baton,” she said. “A passing of the baton.”

Kellie attributes much of her success to the values of her Nebraska family. And that’s how she thinks of the Husker students starting out today: family.

“These young people are our people,” she said. “Take care of your people.”