Ronald Van Nelson
Dec. 10, 1948-April 14, 2022
Ronald Van Nelson, 73,
Norwich, formerly of
Minot, died Thursday,
April 14, 2022 in a Minot
Hospital.
Van was born December
10, 1948 at Rugby, North
Dakota, the son of Glen
and Helen (Van
Sweringen) Nelson. He
was raised and educated
at Rugby and graduated
from Rugby High School
in 1966. He continued his
education at Minot State
University, prior to enter-
ing into active duty ser-
vice with the USAF in
1968. He honorably
served his country during
the Vietnam era and was
stationed at Warren and
Cheyenne, Wyoming and
then Guam until 1971
when he was honorably
discharged and returned
to North Dakota.
Van was employed in
Minot at Westland Oil
Company in their com-
puter center and later lo-
cally for National Cash
Register (NCR). He and
his lifetime companion,
Elizabeth “Veve” Hiller
moved to Colorado to
work for Hewlett Packard
as a computer systems
analyst. They would live
in Greeley and later Ft
Collins with the company
until retiring in 1989.
They lived in Chetemal,
Mexico for a brief time be-
fore returning to Minot
and then Norwich in
2010. From this union,
two sons, Erik and Micha-
el were born.
Van’s primary focus in
his later years, was spend-
ing time with his family,
especially his grandchil-
dren and great grandchil-
dren. He had a great sense
of humor and was known
for his wit.
His loving family in-
cludes, lifetime compan-
ion, Veve Nelson; sons,
Erik (Jana) Nelson, Minot
and Michael Nelson of
Minot; grandchildren and
great grandchildren to in-
clude: Chelsea (Joe), Marli
(Josh), Alexandra, Zach,
Ashley, Natalie, Noah,
Grayson and Aspen; si-
blings, Carol (Roger)
Morill, Cohasset, MN,
Lois (Ken) Lucier, Moor-
head, MN, and Jay Nel-
son, Leadville, CO;
several nieces and
nephews.
Van was preceded in
death by his, parents and
brother, Dale Nelson.
Gathering/Booksigning
for Van: Wednesday,
April 20, 2022 from
4:00-6:00 p.m. at Thomas
Family Funeral Home,
Minot. At his request
there will not be a view-
ing.
Those wishing to sign
the online memorial regis-
ter or share a fond
memory can go to
(www.thomasfamily
funeralhome.com)