- Date Of Birth: July 11, 1933
- Date Of Death: October 16, 2020
- State: Idaho
Kay R. Nelson passed away October 16, 2020, at the age of 87 of causes incident to age.
Kay was born in Shelley, Idaho, on July 11, 1933, to Lorenzo (Wren) and Lettie Rasmussen Nelson. He and his twin brother, Jay, were the last of a family of eight; Elvid, Rex (1st Idahoan killed in WWII), Vern, Verl, Barbara Taysom Taylor, and Golda Clifford. He grew up in Shelley, and in his youth, Kay spent many, many hours working hard on the farm that his Father homesteaded in Woodville. Kay was a shy boy while attending school, but contrary to his shy nature, he excelled in wrestling and boxing.
After graduating from high school in 1951, he continued to work on the farm. Following the footsteps of his brothers, Kay joined the Regular Army in 1951 where he excelled as a Paratrooper. When his superiors discovered he had filed his release papers, they offered him the rank of Sargent if we would stay.
Upon his Honorable Release from active duty on December 4, 1954, he joined the Army Reserves. His reputation preceded him. He was earnestly sought after for the job of a Smoke Jumper, but Kay chose to come home to Idaho.
Being the shy man, Kay never thought to be married. On August 6, 1971, he married the one true love of his life, Mary Emlyn Martin. Kay treated Mary like the queen she was to him, which earned him the deepest respect and admiration of Mary’s seven children. He didn’t care for fishing or boats, gardening or having a nice yard, but embraced them because Mary enjoyed them. Her children have many memories of Kay doing things he didn’t like just for their mother.
Kay loved to work with wood and was always building things, such as swinging benches, potato and onion bins, two houses in Shelley, and a grand cabin in Donnelly with Mary working right beside him. Next to Mary, that cabin was his greatest pride.
Kay was also a stern man, and one set in his ways. It was his way or the wrong way. His step-children remember him as stern but always fair. Others remember him as a man of few words and one seldom seen, but loved by all.
Kay was preceded in death by his parents, four older brothers, two sisters, and two step-sons, Geddis M. (Buddy) Moore and Jerry W. Moore. He is survived by his brother, Jay of Fresno, CA; Mary’s children: Wanda Kelso, Brenda (Ron) Lott, and Charles Moore, all of Idaho Falls; and Cheryl Simons of Shelley, ID; and many nieces and nephews.
