BEVERLY J. NELSON, 91, of Cherokee, Iowa, went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday morning, November 22, 2023, at Lawton Senior Living in Lawton, Iowa. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cleghorn Presbyterian Church in Cleghorn, Iowa. Pastor Larry Ostercamp will officiate. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service at the church in Cleghorn. Private family burial will be held. The Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com. Beverly was born on June 11, 1932 in rural Cherokee County, Iowa, the daughter of Clare and Helen (Moe) Green. She graduated from Cleghorn Community School in 1949 and received her teaching certificate from Buena Vista College in 1950. She went on to teach a total of 28 years in the Cleghorn, Meriden-Cleghorn, and Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn Community School systems. She taught middle school, kindergarten and transitional kindergarten during those years. Bev married Roy L. Nelson on July 14, 1951 in Cherokee, Iowa. They made their home in Marcus, Cleghorn and then on the Nelson Family Farm near Cleghorn, Iowa. They built a new home in Cleghorn in the early 1980’s and lived there until they moved to Cherokee. They had been married nearly 39 years when Roy suddenly passed away on March 19, 1990. Bev had continued to live in Cherokee since that time. In July 2021, she moved to the Gardens Assisted Living Facility. In April 2023, she moved to Lawton Senior Living. Bev enjoyed being a homemaker, farm helper, and doing substitute teaching while raising the couple’s three children, Diane, Rick, and Nancy. Bev was a longtime member of the Cleghorn Presbyterian Church and taught Sunday School and held many offices during her membership there. She was always active in the women’s circles and helped in any function that needed a capable pair of hands. Bev also enjoyed her bridge groups, walking and exercising at the Wellness Center in Cherokee, going to movies, reading, doing crossword puzzles, spending time with family friends, traveling, and faithfully attending her grandchildren’s school activities. Bev was preceded in death by her husband Roy, parents Clare and Helen Green, parents-in-law Adolph and Cora Nelson, sisters and their spouses, Vesta and Noel Courtright and Doris and Edgar Roseen: brothers and their spouses, Melvin and Margaret Green, Burl and Colene Green, Dale and Dorathy Green, and Vernon and Esther Green; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Hazel and Gust Gorna, Alyce Blazer, Melvin and Jerry Nelson. Those left to cherish her memory include her three children and their spouses, Diane and Keith Zevenbergen of Sioux City, Iowa, Rick and Nancy Nelson of Marcus, Iowa, and Nancy and Dave Hughes of Orange City, Iowa; eight grandchildren: Jennie and her husband Jeff Davis, Jill and her husband Jason Paulsen, John and his wife Brandi Zevenbergen, Megan Nelson, Chad Nelson, Courtney and her husband Reed Reuman, Cody and his wife Brooke Hughes, and Sydney Hughes; 12 great-grandchildren: Alec and his wife Eliza Davis, Kyra Shaw, Lucas Paulsen, Henry Davis, Cale Zevenbergen, Korah Zevenbergen, Royce Paulsen, Elliott Davis, Emma Paulsen, Kyper Zevenbergen, Brooks Reuman, and Kinsley Reuman; one great-great grandchild, Silas Davis, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
