Dr. Douglas K. Nelson

1950 - 2024

Dr. Douglas K. Nelson
Born: May 18, 1950
Died: December 31, 2024
Dr. Douglas K. Nelson, DO, age 74, a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and caring physician, died at Ojai Community Hospital in Ojai, California, on December 31, 2024. He died of pancreatic cancer, but had lived courageously through the ups and downs of that disease for 3 years. Doug is survived by his wife of 53 years, Donna (Huizenga). He was surrounded by his family in the last weeks of his life and at his passing.
Doug was born May 18, 1950, in Morrison, Illinois, to loving parents, Howard and Jean Nelson. He graduated from Morrison Community High School in 1968, and attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where he was Co-Captain of the football team and graduated with honors in his pre-med studies. He attended Garrett Theological Seminary at Northwestern University in Chicago for one year and then studied for a year at Northern Illinois University. He graduated from Chicago School of Osteopathic Medicine, and then completed a year of internship in Detroit, Michigan, and a two-year residency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Doug and Donna moved to Ojai in 1982 with their two small sons. Doug began his medical career in family practice, worked as an emergency room doctor, and delivered babies. During his 40-year career in Ojai, he founded the Valley Oak Family Practice, which continues today. He spent hours in the emergency room as an attending physician. He was kind, compassionate and smart. He cared for and saved the lives of countless people in Ojai, always with his unmatched commitment to his patients and colleagues. He wanted to be a doctor all his life, and Ojai is the community that became his home.
Doug is also survived by his three sons and their families, Adam (Mia and sons Patrick and Jacob); Matthew (Lindsey and sons Ethan and Isaac); and Luke (Marisol and daughter Avyanna); his brother-in-law, Cecil Stralow; his wife's brother, Robert Huizenga; his wife's sister, Ruth Robbins, and husband Robb; and four nieces, four nephews and their spouses and children.
Doug was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Jean Nelson, and his sister, Dolores Stralow, as well as his wife's parents, Paul and Verna Huizenga.
Doug enjoyed many things in his lifetime, and he worked very long and hard, but most of all, he loved his wife and three sons. He was always there for them. He was there for their baseball games, school activities and growing up. They were Dodger fans and went to games every year. He supported his sons through their sports, college, careers, marriages and raising families. Each son called him "the best dad ever." The family's love and traditions continued with the arrival of each of his five grandchildren.
Doug and Donna went on their first date to the homecoming dance in their freshman year of high school. They supported and loved each other through high school, college, medical school and family and work life for 60 years.
Doug loved the outdoors. He grew up working and playing at his grandpa Roy's farm where he gathered an impressive collection of arrowheads. He also worked in his dad's electrical business. When he met and dated Donna, he worked on her parents' farm and did whatever chores were needed: baling hay, feeding animals or shingling a new roof. Adam, Matt, and Luke spent many vacations growing up and playing on that farm in Northwestern Illinois. They remember waiting until dark to set off fireworks with their dad on the back 40.
Doug discovered wilderness and backpacking and canoeing while camping in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with his high school church group. Eventually, he and Donna bravely guided groups of kids on two-week trips, which included visits to the Root Beer Lady on Knife Lake. They returned to the Gunflint Trail with their boys for many vacations of fishing, canoeing, watching wildlife and viewing the Northern Lights. Although they no longer backpacked, they still enjoyed rustic resorts and Minnesota pie.
Doug was a generous person with his family and extended family. He and Donna planned travels for them and shared adventures, delicious food and activities in beautiful locations. They were privileged to travel to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand because of their friendship with David Walker from Sydney. They often took family along and made many memories, including dinner under the Harbor Bridge at Ripples, snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, exploring New Zealand and so much more.
To our dear friends, hospital and work family and patients, we extend heartfelt gratitude. You were an integral part of his life, and we honor his memory together. He was a better person because of you. Thank you for your prayers, cards and kind words during his illness.
A private memorial and gathering for the family was held June 26, 2025 in Grand Haven, Michigan. Please consider a donation to the Ojai Valley Community Hospital Foundation, 1301 Maricopa Highway, Suite A, Ojai, CA 93023.
Our hearts ache and we wanted more time, but we are thankful for the love and joy we shared. As Doug said during his final days, "It was a great life." We will remember his voice, his laugh, his friendship, and his hugs. Doug leaves us full of memories, lessons, and a deep love that will strengthen us as we go on from here.