Lorna Kay (Ward) Nelson died December 4, 2018, as a result of a progressive neurodegenerative disease, with which she struggled for ten years. She was born in Osceola, Wisconsin, on the Fourth of July in 1944, and she celebrated every Fourth of July thereafter with unmatched enthusiasm, even after she learned at an early age that all those celebrations were not entirely for her. She was the first of four children born to Robert and Lila (Erickson) Ward of Dresser, Wisconsin. She graduated from Amery High School and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. After one year as a public health nurse in Minneapolis, she married Gordon Nelson in 1967 and moved with him to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he was stationed in the U.S. Army. Their two daughters, Karen and Kate, were born in Alaska. In 1978 the family moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and Lorna became a stay-at-home mom while also earning her elementary-school teaching credentials. She volunteered in her children's local elementary school, where she was president of the PTA and organizer of fund-raising activities such as the Halloween carnival that raised thousands of dollars for the school. In 1986 she accepted a job as school nurse in the Anchorage School District. For the last eleven years before retirement, she was both school nurse and assistant principal at Lake Otis Elementary School. She loved the outdoors, served 35 years on the National Ski Patrol, and was an avid hiker. She was a member of Hillside Hikers in Anchorage and hiked with friends in Alaska, Utah, Colorado, Ireland, England, Austria, and Norway. She completely changed the décor of her home for every holiday (be the holiday ever so minor) and turned the basement of her home into a storage warehouse for all her "stuff". She loved fishing the Kenai River where she caught sockeye and king salmon near their cabin. Lorna was a wonderful friend to many and especially to her friends in Central Lutheran Church, Wednesday Night Knitters, and PEO. She will be dearly missed. She is survived by her loving mother Lila Ward of Amery, Wisconsin, by her husband Gordon, daughters Katherine Nelson of Anchorage, Alaska, daughter Karen Nelson, son-in-law Robert Biesenbach, and grandchildren Edward and Lily Biesenbach, all of Evanston, Illinois. She is also survived by siblings, James Ward, Bruce Ward, and Robin Filkouski and their extended families. Memorials may be made to Lutheran Social Services of Alaska or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Funeral services will be on Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. from First Lutheran Church in Amery, Wisconsin. There will be a visitation 1 hour prior to services at the church from 2:30 to 3:30 pm. A private family interment will take place at a later date in Anchorage, Alaska.