Maurine "Mo" Nelson

Maurine "Mo" Nelson, 64, of Lakewood, Colorado, passed away on November 14, 2025, surrounded by her loving family, after a heroic five-year battle with ovarian cancer. It is fitting that she left us on that date; 14 is the number she wore on most of her sports jerseys and passed on to special players she coached.
Mo was born on November 16, 1960, in Denver, Colorado, as the youngest of four children to Paul and Sally Howell. From her earliest days she showed the strength, resilience, and spark that would define her life. She grew up in Lakewood, where her family-owned Howell's Department Stores and then carpet stores, and from childhood on she had a competitive spirit and a love for helping people thrive.
Mo was an exceptional athlete gifted, humble, and fiercely determined. She attended Lakewood High School at a time when Title IX was new, and girls were finally allowed to play the sports that Mo had been interested in her whole life. She relished the opportunity to participate in as many team sports as possible for her entire high school career and earned nine varsity letters across four sports. Mo was All-State in basketball and was named MVP in the all-star game. She played second base on the UC Santa Barbara softball team, earning many honors including Team Captain, Most Inspirational, Golden Glove, and more. Sports and the integrity for the game were woven into every chapter of her life. She coached softball for more than 17 seasons, including collegiate coaching at Regis University, where she shaped both strong players and strong students. She inspired generations of young women as a mentor, coach, and role model.
Mo brought that same dedication and heart to her work. After three years teaching high school math and PE, she provided membership and conference registration services for the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) for sixteen years. She joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 2007 and became a deeply valued member of the Materials Science and Computational Science Centers. Mo shaped work cultures with her warmth, can-do attitude, humor, and unshakeable dependability. She was the person who could make the impossible possible; the one who quietly kept teams running, lifted up others, and made everyone around her feel like family. Her colleagues will remember her as the heart of the center and a source of steady kindness and unwavering support.
For all her accomplishments, Mo was defined most by how she lived. She adored her family and took immeasurable joy in being a wife, mother, and grandmother. She was proud not only of her children's achievements, but of their compassion, generosity, and thoughtfulness. She loved watching her grandchildren grow and develop a close bond with one another. Their laughter was one of her greatest joys.
She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Brent Nelson; her daughter Katarina Nelson and husband Mark Nelson; her son Eric Nelson and wife Emily Nelson; her grandchildren William and Leonora; her siblings Paul Howell (and partner Cindy Fraser), Carlyn Mishkin (and husband Steve Mishkin), and Richard Howell (and wife Nancy Howell). She was preceded in death by her father, Paul Howell, and by her mother and "bonus dad," Sally and Jack Oberg.
Mo lived with faith, grace, humor, and courage. She found joy in simple things like taking vacation time during March Madness so she could watch every close game, time with family, walks with her dogs, and conversations that made people feel seen. Through coaching, mentoring, friendship, and quiet acts of service, she touched countless lives. Her legacy will live on in her family, the athletes she coached and the players they went on to coach, the colleagues she supported, scientists she helped to navigate the bureaucracy, and everyone who felt her kindness.
A celebration of Mo's life will be held at a later date so that friends and family can gather outdoors, as she wished, to share stories, music, and memories.
In lieu of flowers, Mo would want people to support the causes that matter most to them. She loved people who work to make the world a better place. If you're looking for ideas, these are organizations she personally supported:
Local Causes
• The Action Center - local help for those in need https://www.theactioncenter.org/about-the-action-center
• Friends of PAHA - support for youth and young adults with disabilities https://givebutter.com/friends-of-paha/about
• Sprout City Farms - addressing food insecurity https://sproutcityfarms.org/guiding-principles
• Friends of Foothills Animal Shelter - animal rescue and care https://foothillsanimalshelter.org/about-us/#our-mission
National & International
• The WILD Foundation - wilderness protection https://wild.org/what-we-do/
• Habitat for Humanity - affordable housing https://www.habitat.org/about/mission-and-vision
• Heifer International - hunger and poverty relief https://www.heifer.org/about-us
• World Central Kitchen - emergency food relief https://wck.org/relief
Mo lived fully, loved deeply, and gave generously. Everyone who knew her will carry part of her light forward. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Maurine, please visit our floral store.