Carol Jean Nelson

Carol Jean (Walters) Nelson was born on Feb. 27, 1941, in Whitefish, Montana, to Kathe and Eric “Sonny” Walters. With her older brother, Ed, and her younger brother, Clare, she spent a happy childhood in the railroad town, swimming in the lake in the summer and playing in the snow in the winter. Carol earned a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree from Pacific Lutheran University, working summers as a park nurse at Glacier National Park. She earned a Masters in Nursing Science from the University of Washington, and worked as a nurse in Milwaukee, WI, and Minneapolis, MN. She greatly enjoyed traveling with her friends.

Carol returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1970 to develop the nursing degree program at Spokane Community College, creating the program from the ground up. She taught nursing for 37 years at the college, serving many of those as department chair, and instructing thousands of students. During her tenure, students appreciated her caring demeanor and assistance in overcoming challenges to earn their degree. She contributed much to the nursing community, locally and nationally, including through editing textbooks and developing certification exams, and believed deeply in the power of an AA degree.

Carol married Ray Nelson in 1972, and they raised two daughters, Katie (Monsen) and Andrea (Williams). She was a loving grandmother, and is survived by her daughters and their spouses (Forest Monsen, Marc Williams), her grandchildren, her brother and his wife (Clare and Jan Walters), her nephews Paul Walters and Greg Walters, and her nieces Tena Marcus and Elaine Mee-Sun Walters, as well as Ray’s stepmother, Nancy Nelson, and his many siblings, nieces, and nephews.

A celebration of Carol’s life will be at her church of nearly 50 years, St. Luke Lutheran Church, in Spokane, WA, on June 30 at 11 am.