Juanita G Nelson

Juanita Gay Nelson, Nee Moen, was born on October 10th, 1934 in Rugby North Dakota. She passed away on July 31st, 2023 in Mesa, Arizona. She has now joined her father Lester Sandford Moen, mother Clarice Luella Moen, sister Monica Marie Moen and her grandson Benjamin Keith Nelson. She is also accompanied by her beloved father and mother in law, Angus and Nora Nelson, brother and sisters-in-law Oscar and Patricia Guest and Maria Moen. And, of course she is now back together with the love of her life, husband for more than 50 years, Gary Kent Nelson. No doubt, they are now playing Pinochle or Poker and singing robustly in the heavenly choir of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Juanita was the oldest of 8 children and, according to her siblings, she set the standard for her 3 brothers (Tillman, David and Layne) and 4 sisters (Solveig, Diane, Cora Lee, and Monica). She graduated from Deep Elementary, a one room country school in rural North Dakota all while working as a housekeeper for a local farmer. She went on to graduate from Upham High School and subsequently Minot School of Nursing, always leading the way, always the Valedictorian. She took her first surgical nursing job at a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. She joined a local Lutheran church and sang in the choir where she met her husband Gary, a military intelligence officer from Phoenix Arizona. They were married at the same church and soon moved back to Arizona where she continued her nursing career and supported Gary through law school in Tucson, Arizona.

After Gary got his law degree they moved back to Phoenix, Arizona. She took a part time job as nurse in a family clinic with Dr. Smith and Dr. Pfister, two wonderful men. Her husband Gary became assistant Attorney General and eventually was elected Attorney General (twice) and subsequently was appointed to Arizona Court of Appeals. This is not his story, but it is important to note because Gary lost his Judgeship due to false allegations and Juanita had to step in to save this family. She did so by going back into surgical nursing at Doctor’s Hospital which eventually became Humana. Although Gary found another wonderful job, she continued to work for 3 decades. While she was never as well known as her husband, she was acknowledged and awarded multiple times and eventually became the Surgical Nurse manager. While Gary was the famous face and beautiful voice of the family, Juanita was the heart and spine. Her children Bradley Kent Nelson, Byron Keith Nelson, Douglas Paul Nelson and Gregory Neil Nelson know: we would never have walked, we never would have rocked, and we never would have rolled on without her. No one ever worked harder than her. She worked, she cooked, she sewed.She took us and picked us up from school, from football, basketball and baseball practices. She taught us in Sunday school and amazingly, in Monday through Friday school. She helped us with her 12 grandchildren, how to hold them, how to love them, how to mold them and, once in a while,how to scold them, and of course how to change them. She has 9 great grandchildren and one more on the way, and while they may not know her well, she knows them, she is now in their hearts and souls. There are literally thousands of more things we could write, but now it is time to say goodbye for the moment. We love you, we miss you—May God be with you, till we meet again.