Kenneth Everett "Ken" Nelson, MD
Marriages
Sandy Nelson
Obituaries
The Daily Sentinel page 6A - September 7, 2023
Kenneth Everett Nelson,
MD (“Ken”) peacefully
passed away on July 29,
2023, at the age of 90 following a courageous battle with
Alzheimer’s disease, during
which he received thoughtful care and support from
teams at Safe Haven at The
Commons, Right at Home,
and Hope West Hospice.
Ken was in the company of
his close family members, who will continue to honor his
legacy by living their lives to the fullest, advocating for
their community, the environment, and their own families.
He was a loving husband, a supportive father of his three
children, totally enchanted with his five grandchildren, and
a devoted mentor and friend to many, both personally and
professionally. Ken is survived by his beloved wife of 57
years, Sandy, his three children, Wendy, Mike (Marsha)
and Carol, and his five grandchildren, Alaina, Margaret,
Lily, Hayden and Ray.
Ken was born and raised in Marshfield, WI. He grew
up in a large eleven children household, living very humbly
amid often challenging circumstances. Ken and his siblings started to work at a young age to help support the family. With these challenges, his love of learning gave him the
ability to excel academically, shaping the underpinnings of
a life well-lived and a career offering him the ability to help
others in so many ways.
Prior to pursuing advanced education, Ken served in the
U.S. Air Force, with the Strategic Air Command, despite
suffering from undiagnosed scoliosis. He endured combat
in the Korean War, which included surviving a military
plane crash. Later in his non-military medical career, Ken
volunteered as a civilian doctor during the height of the
Vietnam War. At the time of the Tet Offensive of 1968,
he was working at a Vietnamese civilian hospital in Da
Nang, notably establishing a burn unit, focusing on napalm
injuries. Years later, in 1975 following the U.S. evacuation from Vietnam, Ken supported caring for Vietnamese
refugee children when they arrived at The Presidio in San
Francisco, CA.
Ken completed his associate’s degree from Kendall
College, in Evanston, IL. He finished his bachelor’s and
master’s degrees at the University of Southern Illinois, in
Carbondale, IL. In 1964 he earned his medical degree at the
University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, IL
followed by a medical internship at Saint Francis Medical
Center in Peoria, IL. In 1966, Ken began his family practice career with Broomfield Family Practice in Broomfield,
CO. He and his family then moved to Burley, ID, followed
by Marshfield, WI. In 1976, the family settled in Grand
Junction, CO where Ken opened his own private medical
office. Starting 1996 he joined St. Mary’s Hospital’s rural
clinic practice team, assisting the communities of Norwood,
Ouray, Parachute and Clifton. Ken also worked as an oncall physician with Primary Care Partners’ Docs on Call
Medical Clinic in Grand Junction. In 2001, Ken fulfilled
various locum tenens positions serving rural and frontier
areas in Colorado, Montana, Arizona, North Dakota and
Utah, including various Indian Reservations in these states.
Throughout his career, he provided family practice services
to generations of families up to his retirement. Ken was
a respected member of St. Mary’s Hospital’s medical staff
and hospital leadership throughout his private practice career. As a physician, he offered all his patients compassion,
care, and respect, which was reciprocated in immeasurable
ways.
Ken was enthusiastically involved in his community.
He actively participated in The Kiwanis Club of Grand
Junction, Powderhorn Racing Club, District 51 Youth
Soccer, Amigos De Las Americas, Mesa County Partners,
and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of
Grand Junction, CO. The community of Lake City, CO
and Hinsdale County became a special place for the Nelson
family. Ken was an advocate for this community via his
support of Lake City DIRT and Lake City Arts. He held a
particular fondness for working on the hiking trails around
Lake City, CO.
The simplest pleasures in life brought great joy to Ken
and his family, starting with his love of nature and fascination with various landscapes across the country, in particular Colorado’s mountains, the desert landscape of the
Southwest, and especially the Grand Canyon. He and his
wife Sandy loved traveling, exploring the nooks and crannies of unique areas and landscapes; retiring at the end of
their days cozied up in their favorite pop-up camper. Ken
appreciated the outdoors to the fullest – a determined skier,
an avid hiker, and an enthusiastic fisherman. In the company of his family, he loved camping, hiking, backpacking,
kayaking, and canoeing. Art and music were incredibly important to Ken. His favorite musician was Neil Diamond.
Ken valued art and in fact on his own, became an accomplished wood carving artist, favoring birds. He taught his
children to notice and appreciate the outdoors and artistic
contributions, and they have in turn passed this love to their
children. Ken took great pride in caring for his home, fixing all things broken, making improvements, completing
many woodworking projects, preparing pancakes, enjoying
dessert first and planting so many trees. Ken regaled his
children with stories of working in his father’s shoe shop,
the town’s movie theater, a pickle factory, and the local pizza place, just to name a few. His children learned from
these stories that establishing a work ethic is valuable and
any job can be rewarding and entertaining at the same time.
Ken is best remembered by his determination, work ethic, kindness, patience, love of learning, contribution to his
community and most of all his compassion. A memorial
celebration is scheduled at the First Presbyterian Church
on October 7, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. Charitable contributions
in memory of Ken Nelson, MD can be made to Colorado
National Monument Association at 1750 Rim Rock Drive,
Fruita, CO 81521. Ken’s all-time favorite hiking path was
“The Serpent’s Trail” on the Monument. If you ever find
yourself on that very special trail, give him a “high five”
when you reach the top.
