Charlene Yvonne Nelson

Charlene Yvonne Nelson (Eck) was born on October 7, 1934 to Bill and Denyse Eck in Manistique MI. Charlene graduated from Manistique High School in 1953 and married Ralph (Hap) Nelson, also of Manistique, in November of 1953. Charlene & Hap, along with their three children, Billy, Denyse & Debbie moved from Michigan to San Jose, CA in 1960. Charlene got her start in banking during high school working at First National Bank and continued her banking career with Wells Fargo in California. Charlene is survived by her her three children Billy, Denyse (Mike) Sierra, Debbie (Randy) Gillespie whom all still live in San Jose. She has ten grandchildren – Mandy, Randi Nicole, Alex, David, Lindsay, Leslie, Michael, Matthew, Michele and Melissa. Five great-grandchildren – Leila, Annabelle, Jubilee, Tallulah and Wendy. Charlene was preceded in death by her parents and stepfather, Dale Ott, husband Hap, sister Patricia (Gary) Nelson, stepbrothers Alan(Jean) and Melvin Ott (Mary Lou) stepsister Janet (Bob) Lockwood and brother-in-law, Perry Burrell. She is survived by brother David (Kristin) Eck, sister Marsha (Don) Lunnon, stepbrother Phillip (Sandy) Ott, stepsisters JoAnn (Peter) Wedegartner and Betty Burrell. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews. Charlene will be remembered for her love of feeding people home cooked meals and always having room at the table for one more person. Her doors were open to anyone who needed a meal or a place to stay. Our family will forever cherish our time with Charlene and hope to carry out her legacy by making a little extra food just in case someone unexpected shows up at the door.

Charlene passed away January 25, 2021 after a long battle with diabetes.