Perry Nelson was born to Ardene (Heithold) and Orville Nelson on Feb. 4, 1963 in Wayne. He joined his two older sisters, Kathy and Sherri, in growing up as a farm kid. He graduated from Wayne High School and Wayne State College, where he received a basketball scholarship.
Perry died Saturday, July 11, 2020 as a car struck him while he was riding his bicycle on a beautiful Colorado day.
He moved to Colorado after college to begin a career in Information Technology. His career took him all over the world. He resided in Germany, working for a U.S. company, for a number of years before coming back to Colorado. He continued to work in the IT world, becoming an officer in many start-up companies, and a full partner in his latest venture.
When he moved to Colorado after college, Perry became, and remained, very close to his niece, Mieke (Wunderlich) Wagner and nephew, Jordan Wunderlich. To them, he was the best uncle in the world.
Perry met his beautiful and talented wife, LizAnn (Elizabeth) Rucker in Boulder. They traveled the world together before settling in Louisville, Colo. and starting their family. Their boys, Trevor and Blake, benefited from Perry’s love of basketball, baseball, camping, and backyard football. Perry spent many hours over the years coaching the boys’ basketball teams and assisting with baseball. He was a patient, caring man and loved by all the kids and parents on the teams he coached. To him, family was everything. He lived with integrity and love. He kept his promises.
Survivors include his wife, LizAnn; children, Trevor and Blake; and sisters Kathy ‘Nelson’ Fahrenholz and Sherri ‘Nelson’ Schranz (Herman).
He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother-in-law, John Fahrenholz.
There was a walk-by memorial on Saturday, July 18 at the Nelson home in Louisville, Colorado.
Donations can be made to the following organizations:
Perry Nelson Basketball Scholarship, c/o Golden Crown Foundation, www.goldcrownfoundation.com/givetogcf, 1743 Wazee St #300, Denver, CO 80202;
Memo Line: Perry Nelson Basketball Scholarship.
Donations in Perry’s honor can be made to a memorial fund being set up for Trevor and Blake. If you would like to donate electronically via Venmo/ApplePay etc please email Joannekeys@comcast.net and she will facilitate this. Checks can be made out to LizAnn Nelson or made out separately to Blake Nelson and Trevor Nelson. They may be mailed to: Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., ATTN: Kelly, Trevor and Blake Nelson, 8700 Turnpike Dr., Suite 480, Westminster, CO 80031-7030.
Kelly will keep track of donors for the family .
