Ronald 'Ron' Lee Nelson

Ronald ‘Ron’ Lee Nelson, age 67, returned on December 24, 2024, to be with his family members in Heaven for Christmas. He was born on May 31, 1957, to Carl Lee Nelson and Joyce Kimber in the Cooley Memorial Hospital in Brigham City, Box Elder, Utah. His mother, Joyce, had been previously married, so he was welcomed home by her son, Willard ‘Ryan’ Jensen, whose father, Billy, had been killed in a duck hunting accident on Willard Bay, just months before Ryan’s birth.

Ron was age six when Carl and Joyce were divorced. His father married in 1964 to Judy K. Lundgreen, which added five sons and one daughter into Ron’s life, Carl ‘David’ (Jody) Nelson, Ogden; Todd L. (Christine) Nelson, Layton, UT; Cara Lee Nelson, West Haven, UT. Douglas D. Nelson (baby-deceased); Michael ‘Casey’ (Ardella) Nelson, Riverdale, UT; and Dustin D. (Holly), Layton, UT.

Ron was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on December 31, 1966. He was a kind-hearted soul, and a gentle giant of a person.

His grandparents, Thomas E. and Emma Barlow Kimber, as well as Joyce’s sister, Velma, became an integral part of his life, as his mother worked to raise two young boys. They taught him how to hunt, fish, and fix things using common sense. Joyce recalls, “As it turned out, I didn’t exactly raise Ryan and Ron, I just financed them and refereed.”

Ron became a caregiver to these family members and his mother as they aged; doing yard work pruning trees/mowing lawns, grocery shopping, and completing ‘honey do’ lists. They were able to stay in their own homes, because of Ron’s dutiful lifelong service.

Ron grew up attending area schools, while living on Harrison Blvd., graduating from Ogden High School, and then continuing his education at Weber College. By February 1977, he’d joined the United States Air Force, training at the Seymour Johnson Base in North Carolina. While there, taking college courses. After returning home, he continued taking engineering classes at Weber State University, being quite brilliant in his studies.

Ron’s occupational hopes and dreams for the future were shattered in the summer of 1981, when Ron, age 24, was in a terrible life-threatening motorcycle accident in Ogden. His mother, Aunt Velma, siblings, and father, Carl, visited his bedside every day, and sacrificed their time to help with exercise, doctors’ appointments, and gave him occupational therapy as he recovered. Ron was in pain the rest of his life from those motorcycle accident injuries. He regained his ability to walk, talk if one listened carefully, and ‘puttered’ around the house. Ron was also able to help around the shop with his father at their company, Nelson  Intermountain Crane in Ogden, alongside his half-brothers, as they repaired, rented and leased commercial and industrial machinery. This gave him a great sense of pride and accomplishment to be helpful in a place with family members as he recovered. He continued to work with them for many years.

Just two years after Ron’s accident, his brother, Ryan, passed away in July of 1983. Ron’s mother and Aunt Velma especially needed the love and support Ron brought to them at their time of mourning. 

Once or twice a week, Ron LOVED making the trek up to Crystal Hot Springs, Utah, which is north of Brigham City. The hot water soothed his aching body, and he made many friends. They all knew Ron. His interests included riding bicycles, the outdoors, motorcycles, trucks, and mechanics.

In 1992, Joyce married Al Harmon and added two of Al’s daughters into his life, Holli Nelson and Heidi Harmon. He enjoyed it when the grandchildren would come to visit with little ones around their home again.

After the passing in 2013 of his Aunt Velma, he moved from her Brigham City home, back to live in Ogden with his mother, where he spent his remaining years. He enjoyed activities and experiencing the local fast-food cuisine with his friend, Mark Hunt, who became his taxi driver and roommate after his mother, Joyce, passed away in 2021. The family would like to especially say, “Thank-you,” to Mark and Ron’s neighbors, Ralph and Wendy Ellis, who have watched over Ron to make sure ‘the porch light is on’ and have been such good friends to Joyce and her family. We appreciate everyone who have been good to Ron in his community, by saying, “Hello,” and giving him a friendly wave.

He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, three siblings, Ryan Jensen, Doug Nelson, and Heidi Harmon, as well as his special Aunt Velma, who was like a second mother to him.

Ron will be missed by his previously listed half-siblings, Nelson/Harmon aunts and uncles, Kimber cousins, as well as several nieces and nephews. We’re all grateful that he can be free from his physical pain, which he has experienced for over 40 years. Dearest Ron, we know you’re having a wonderful Christmas this year.

A short service will be held on Saturday, January 4, 2024, from 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. at 11th Central Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Relief Society Room, 506 South 200 East, Brigham City, Utah. 

Friends may visit with family on Saturday from 10 to 10:30 a.m. at the church. 

Interment, Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Brigham City Cemetery, 300 East 300 South. He will be buried next to his mother, Joyce and her husband Al Harmon, which is north of the cemetery office. We will miss him. 

The following article was written by his Mother:

Christmas Reflections - By Joyce Jensen [Nelson Harmon]

Christmas 1981 was one that stands out in my memory, because after much coaxing, the doctor allowed my son, Ron, to leave the hospital and spend Christmas at home with the family. Earlier that year, Ron had suffered a serious accident, that required him to have three surgeries, put him in a coma for two months and, when he came out of the coma, left him completely paralyzed.

At Christmas time, he was in the Wasatch Care Center ‘waking up’ enough to be admitted to the Stewart Rehab Center at McKay-Dee Hospital for therapy. Because of the tracheotomy performed on his windpipe and the paralysis, Ron could not communicate very well with us verbally, but the pleading in his eyes to ‘please take me home’ came through loud and clear. The staff of the Care Center was concerned about our attempting to take him at this point of his recovery, since he could not walk without help, or care for himself at all. It took three nurses to help us get him into the car, but it was all worth it, when I saw the look on his face as he entered the house after three months. During that Christmas, we learned a lot more about the true meaning of families and love, as well as some practical nursing.

After Christmas, Ron went back for his therapy and although he had three more surgeries and struggled along a tough road to recovery, he progressed to a point where he enrolled at Weber State College and is doing so well, that he amazes his doctors. This Christmas, 1981, will be a wonderful one to our family and it is a very good time to thank all of my good friends at OSC, who have helped us to pull through a very difficult time. Dr. Arrango and the ladies in the OSC health unit were especially helpful and I am so grateful for their caring and support! To all of you at the Stewart Rehab Center, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.