Arlen (Oz) Nelson, 88, of Boise, passed away peacefully at home Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, surrounded by his family. Oz was born in Woodville, Idaho, on Nov. 22, 1932 to Albin and Ada Nelson. After graduation, he joined the Navy and later met and married Dolores Edwards in Portland, Oregon. They had 3 children; Rick, Kim and Bob. He spent many years in banking and in 1976 moved to Boise, Idaho, to work for Idaho First National Bank, in the Trust Dept. Oz and Dolores divorced in 1978.
He met Karen Day Jones, while working at IFNB and they married in 1979. They spent their free time at their cabin in Stanley: fishing, riding motorcycles, and enjoying family time. In 1987, after early retirement from the bank, they purchased the Baywest Motel in Lincoln City, Oregon. They operated it for 5 years and loved the coast, but returned to Boise to be with family. After returning, they resumed their banking careers until permanent retirement in 1997. They continued to enjoy their time in Stanley until they found a 10 acre property in Hamilton, Montana and decided to make that their part-time home.
In late 2020, Oz was diagnosed with kidney failure and was placed on dialysis back in Boise. Then in February, he was diagnosed with brain cancer and was placed on hospice care. The family would like to thank all the medical staff at St. Luke’s and Encompass Health.
Oz is survived by his wife Karen, son Rick Nelson, daughter Kim (Pete) Gysling, of New Plymouth, stepson Randy (Lisa) Jones, stepdaughter Renee Jones, 3 grandsons, 1 granddaughter, 1 great grandson, and faithful dog Kelli. he was preceded in death by his son Bob Nelson.
A committal service with military honors will be held at the Idaho State Veterans’ Cemetery on March 18th at 1:00 pm.
Condolence(1)-
Marsha LaFarge says
March 8, 2021 at 7:48 pmKaren just saw this obituary. Mike and I were just reminiscing. Please accept our deepest condolences. Hope you are doing well. We retired to Cathlamet WA. Hugs to you. Mike and Marsha LaFarge