Patricia Mae Nelson

Pat will be long remembered for her love and kindness for all and her thoughtful consideration for those who assisted her in her many years of incapacity. She was admired for courage and cheerfulness in the face of suffering and adversity.

Pat was born on April 1, 1929, in Fort Rosecrans, San Diego, California, where her father, a US Army officer, was stationed with a US Army infantry regiment.

Several years after her birth the family moved to Berkeley, California, where her father attended the University of California law school, and then to Fort Lewis, Washington for several years, where she began elementary school, and in 1935 to Arlington, Virginia. By this time the family had increased to five, including her mother, her older bother, Robert, and a younger sister, Anita.

While living in Arlington she attended Western High School in Washington, DC, for two years. In 1946 her father received a presidential appointment as the United Nations War Crimes Commissioner representing the United States and the family moved to Grosvenor Square in London, where Pat was enrolled for her last year of high school at the Maltmans Green for girls, just outside London.

After graduating with honors from Maltmans Green, Pat attended the University of Lausanne, where she majored in French Literature. She returned in 1950 to the United States with her family and enrolled in the University of Colorado and graduated in 1951.

While at the university she met Edwin Nelson, a young WWII Navy veteran, who she married in 1951. They had a similar love of the outdoors, hiking, horseback riding, which they enjoyed together for many years.

Ed began a career as a high school science teacher and Pat sought work in her field of French literature, but soon realized there was little employment for such skills, and she began studies in business application of computers at the University of Colorado.

She rapidly became computer-proficient, and was recognized as one of the women pioneers in the field. She also was active in professional organizations and was elected as president of the local chapter of the Data Processing Management Association in 1974-76. After Pat had become certified as a computer analyst, she began working for the State of Colorado as a computer systems planner and designer. She retired in 1991.

Besides loving the outdoors, Pat loved to travel, garden, read and care for her dogs. She returned to Europe several times, but also travelled to Africa and Asia, and went sailing in the Virgin Islands on a yacht belonging to Bob, her brother, and his family.

When Ed died in 2012 Pat sold their home in Denver and moved in to the Covenant Village of Colorado in Westminster, where she enjoyed living until her death in 2025. Her attractive cottage in the village had a beautiful view of the Colorado mountains, which she loved so dearly. She is survived by her brother Robert and four nieces and nephews.