Elizabeth Ness Nelson

IN  LOVING  MEMORY  OF

Elizabeth Ness Nelson

November 28, 1938 — January 10, 2018

MEMORIAL  SERVICE

Saturday, January 27, 2018 at 3:00 p.m.

Hope Lutheran Church

364 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno, California

Those we hold

most dear

never truly leave us;

they live on

in the kindnesses

they showed

and the love

they brought into our lives.

Isabel Norton

OBITUARY

Elizabeth Ness Nelson died in her sleep on January 10, 2018 after a brief illness.  She was preceded in death by her parents Helmer and Helen (Brand) Ness and her sister, Jean Leroux. She is survived by her husband, Ed Nelson; her daughter and son-in-law, Lisa Nelson and Robert Kosky and their children, Matthew, Nathan, and Seth; her son and daughter-in-law, David and Carrie Nelson and their children, Elizabeth and Grace; her sister Patricia Bjerkan; nephew, Chad (and Cyndy) Bjerkan; her niece, Tonya (and Darrell) Heike and four grand nephews.

Elizabeth was born and raised in Everett WA and received her BA with Honors at Washington State University in 1961. She attended graduate school at UCLA and received her Ph.D. in Sociology in 1975. She taught at California State University, Fresno from 1973 to her retirement in 2000. She was Chair of the Department of Sociology from 1988 to 2000 and helped develop the Women’s Studies Program and the Multidisciplinary Gerontology Program at Fresno State.

Elizabeth’s professional associations included the American Sociological Association and the Pacific Sociological Association both from 1965 to 2018. She was also a member of the Western Social Sciences Association, the California Sociological Association, and the National Women’s Studies Association. She cowrote a variety of instructional materials, including SPSS for Windows. She was a member of the CSU Emeriti and Retired Faculty Association and the CSU, Fresno Executive Council.

Elizabeth traveled to India and Nepal with the People to People Citizen’s Ambassador Program in’ 1988 and again in 2007.  She was very active at Hope Lutheran Church and Lydia’s House both in Fresno. She served on various boards, including the Friendly Visitors Service, the University Religious Center, and Lutheran Campus Ministry, Fresno. She also volunteered with Elderhostel.

Elizabeth was proud of her accomplishments, and she delighted even more in her children and grandchildren, traveling to visit them in Wisconsin whenever she could. She loved to travel and spent this last Christmas in Wisconsin and visited Orlando with her daughter and family and Colorado with her son and family this last summer. She called her sister daily and visited Washington often. She will be missed by all who knew her.

The memorial service will be on Saturday, January 27, at Hope Lutheran Church in Fresno at the corner of Fresno St. and Barstow Ave.  If you would like to make a contribution in her honor, the following groups are suggested:  Hope Lutheran Church (364 E Barstow Ave., Fresno 93710, 559-439-4320), Lutheran Campus Ministry (2311 E. Shaw Ave, Fresno 93710, 559-224-9051), and Lydia’s House (1572 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno 93710, 559-436-3434).

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