Sylvia Merle (Humphreys) Nelson, 97, former resident of Aberdeen, ID, passed away Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at her son’s home in Oregon City, OR.
She was born Feb. 22, 1921, in Sterling, ID, as the fifth daughter of Charles Edward and Celeste Chipman Herbert Humphreys. She was always called the baby of the family and prayed for a baby brother. She attended grade school in Sterling, after begging to enter early at five years old. She attended Aberdeen High School, where she met her future husband, Thomas (Tommy) Phillips Nelson. They were married in Kaysville, UT, in 1938.
Sylvia was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in both Idaho and Oregon, serving as a visiting teacher for close to 30 years in Aberdeen. Tommy and Sylvia were sealed for time and eternity in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple in 2010.
Her work career included employment at Economy Cash, sorting potatoes in local warehouses, as a secretary for University of Idaho Aberdeen Agricultural Experiment Station, and as a secretary for the USDA Soil Conservation Plant Material Center in Aberdeen until her retirement in 1986. Her employment skills made her an expert at crossword puzzles. Her favorite hobby was quilting and her pieces have been cherished by many family and friends.
She and Tommy frequented the Island Park, ID, region throughout their lives and purchased property there in 1986, where they spent their summers. As an active woman, Sylvia split firewood into her 80’s for bonfires and the home wood stove. She also enjoyed picking Island Park huckleberries. Reunions occurred there every summer for many years with family and friends, where a log carving called “Big Tom” became a local landmark.
Sylvia moved to Oregon City, OR, in 2013 to live with her son, Bob Nelson and daughter-in-law, Wendy.
She was preceded in death by: sisters Eva Bodily, Agnes Strawn, Cleo Carley, Blanche Humphreys, husband Tommy Nelson, daughter Deon Lila Braun, and son Thomas Wayne Nelson.
Sylvia is survived by: sons Michael Dale Nelson of Pleasanton, CA, and Robert Jay Nelson of Oregon City, 13 grandkids, many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
A family memorial is planned for the near future. In lieu of flowers and remembrances, donations may be made to American Legion charities.
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