NELSON, Ronald R.

NELSON, ADAMSON, PRUNTY, JAHNKE, WALKER, NELSON, SCHULTE, COLBY

Posted By: Lynette Edsall (email)
Date: 9/12/2006 at 11:49:08

Ronald R. Nelson

CHEROKEE, Iowa -- Ronald R. Nelson, 65, of rural Cherokee passed away Friday, April 28, 2006, at Cherokee Villa Nursing and Rehab Center following a lengthy illness.

Graveside services will be 2 p.m. Monday in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Aurelia, Iowa, with Pastor Gary Zwick officiating. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, with the family present 2 to 4 p.m., at Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee. Memorial services will be at a later date at First Church of Christ in Cherokee.

Ronald was born Jan. 6, 1941, in Cherokee, to George and Elsie (Adamson) Nelson. He graduated from Aurelia High School with the class of 1959 and attended Iowa State University from 1963 until 1965. He served in the U.S. Army for two years with one year in Korea.

Ron was married to Betty Prunty on Sept. 3, 1966, in Cherokee. He farmed from 1965 until 2000 in Afton Township.

He was an active member of First Church of Christ in Cherokee, serving as a deacon for many years. He also served for 24 years on the Maple Valley Insurance Board. Ron enjoyed attending sporting events at Aurelia High School and I.S.U. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather, whose giving spirit touched family and friends. His faith in God was the foundation of his life.

Survivors include his wife, Betty; four daughters, Raquel Jahnke and her husband, Mike of Sioux Falls, S.D., Stephanie Walker and her husband, Matt of Shawnee, Kan., Corissa Nelson of Olathe, Kan., and Raneen Schulte and her husband, Ryan of Ann Arbor, Mich.; grandchildren, Haley and Payton Jahnke and Jenna, Lauren and Ellie Walker; two brothers and their wives, Sherm and Joanne Nelson and Dean and Darlene Nelson, all of Aurelia; a brother-in-law, David Colby of Silver Bay, Minn.; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, DeOn Colby; and a nephew, Greg Nelson.