George Edward "Ed" Nelson

George Edward Nelson, Jr., known fondly as "Ed", passed away peacefully of natural causes, surrounded by his family, on February 20, 2024, at the age of 95. He was born on October 30, 1928, to George Edward Nelson, Sr., and Alice Smith Nelson. He was the oldest of their four children, with brothers Joe and Jaren, and baby sister Lynda. His mother was a gifted singer with perfect pitch and taught her children to sing harmonies together; a family tradition that united and blessed them throughout life. Dad shared often, with the flair of a master storyteller, his legendary adventures of growing up in Tooele, including singing as a five-year-old boy in the bar owned by his uncle to earn nickels from the drunks; and his high school initiation when he was compelled to run though town clad in nothing but paper plates in order to retrieve his clothing from the top of the flagpole.
Dad graduated from Tooele High School then attended Brigham Young University where he met the lovely and smart co-ed, Elaine Duffin. She made her devotion known for tall, dark, and handsome Ed, by waiting for him while he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Bakersfield, CA. While on his mission, he was invited to sing weekly on a local radio program, enabling him to share his talent with the community.
Dad and mom were married on August 7, 1950, in the Manti, Utah Temple. The newlyweds started out in Tooele, UT as they began their family. During this time Dad sang in the Tabernacle Choir for years, then the family moved to Salt Lake City, UT, while Dad completed a Bachelor and Master degrees at the University of Utah. A move to Cardston Canada came next where he developed a business education program for high school students. Along this path, five children were born Georgann (David, deceased) Ranks, Greg (Lora) Nelson, Doug (Caren) Nelson, Dan (Tammy) Nelson, and Matt (Becky) Nelson. There was a move to Tempe, AZ where Dad earned his Doctor of Education; and finally, they settled in Orem, UT, while spending the remainder of his career teaching in the Business Department at Brigham Young University where he truly loved the connections, he made with the students he taught.
In 1982 Elaine died after a heroic battle against cancer, and Dad continued to teach at BYU. Our family was blessed when Dad met Sandra Funk Ryan and they were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple August 17, 1983. Sandy was a blessing to Dad and all our family. We gained two more brothers, Steve (Michelle) Pruden, and Scott (Markel) Pruden; and a sister, Kelli (Tai) Mecham. Ed and Sandy made their home in Lindon, UT.
Our family had fun parties. The annual Nelson Christmas Party was always an anticipated event. Dad and Sandy often spent the entire year making unique handcrafted gifts for each of us that will be treasured always. These gifts highlighted Dad's artistic and creative talents including painting, pottery, wood carving, crochet, embroidery, quilting, sewing, gardening, photography, and calligraphy. (If you want a good chuckle, ask one of the daughters about the homemade earrings.)
Dad adored his 24 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren, and 2 great great grandchildren. He always wanted to know everything about what they were doing and express how proud he was of them and how much he loved them. Dad and Sandy used to pray together every night for every single one of their children and grandchildren by name. Sandy passed away July 23, 2019, after bravely facing cancer.
Dad served in many callings in the Church, but his all-time favorite was being the Bishop of the Lindon 21st Ward. Whenever he spoke of these experiences, it was always with tremendous fondness for the people he connected with, especially the youth, and the love he felt for them. He shared his testimony of the importance of loving others individually and recognizing everyone's value. He often said, "I was blessed by the wonderful people I served and felt more love from them than I can express." As his children we feel blessed and will strive to emulate his example to love others.
A viewing will be held Friday, March 1, 2024 from 6:00-8:00pm at Walker Sanderson Funeral Home located at 646 East 800 North Orem, Utah. There will be another viewing on Saturday, March 2, 2024 from 8:30-9:45am at the Lindon Stake Center located at 1050 East 100 North St, Lindon, Utah. Following this viewing, his funeral service will begin at 10:00am at the same location. Following his service, the dedication of his grave and interment will be at 2:00pm at Wasatch Memorial Park located at 3401 South Highland Dr. Millcreek, Utah.
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