Eugene "Gene" Elden Nelson
Gene was born April 27, 1935, in Provo, Utah, to Elden and Helen Nelson. He served four years in the United States Navy aboard submarines during the Korean War era, then fulfilled a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Central Atlantic States.
He earned a master's degree in entomology from Brigham Young University and built a distinguished career with the Colorado State University Extension Service, where his work in pest management- particularly on potato leaf roll virus in the San Luis Valley and codling moth management for apple growers- had lasting impact on Colorado agriculture.
Gene was a gifted outdoorsman and bowhunter, a beloved Scout leader, a remarkable storyteller, and a man of deep, quiet faith. He lost his father in a drowning accident at Fish Lake when he was sixteen- his father died trying to save a friend- and that early loss shaped his lifelong conviction that families endure beyond this life. He never raised his voice and always sought peace.
Gene and his first wife, Carolynn, are survived by their five children: Kellene Mortensen, Elden Nelson, Lori Nelson, Jodi Nelson, and Christy Nelson Williams.
In 1994, he married Janel Zeyer Hales, and they shared 31 years. Together, they served two additional missions for their church, in Brazil and Portugal. He is also survived by numerous stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as several siblings.
Gene Nelson was a submariner, a scientist, a missionary, a hunter, a fisherman, a storyteller, a peacemaker, a Scout leader, a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a man of God. He lived a big life, and he lived it well.