Wade Harvey Nelsen

Wade Harvey Nelsen, age 77 of Noxon, MT, passed away August 4th, 2011 at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, WA. Born in a cabin in Noxon, MT on August 24th, 1933, Wade was the only child of Harvey Nelsen and Isobel (Dodge) Nelsen. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother remarried Ivan Rasmussen, so most of his childhood was spent living in different cities throughout the Northwest. Wade eventually returned to Noxon where he attended Noxon High School, and where he met his wife of 54 years, the late Faye (Rasmussen) Nelsen. Wade was a veteran of the U.S. Army and one of the best mechanics anyone has ever known. He had a passion for cars, pickups, and almost anything with an engine. Even when his career moved to heavy construction and concrete mixing plants for dams, he still called himself a mechanic. However, Wade’s career in building dams was the catalyst for his world travels. He and his wife, Faye carved out a home for their four children wherever it was that his job took him. They both shared a belief that family is always the priority so when he accepted a new job, his wife and children soon followed. Wade used his locations of employment to learn and discover the different cultures and what each area had to offer. He climbed through caverns in Carlsbad, New Mexico, explored pueblos in Santa Fe, toured the nuclear reservation in Richland, WA, went clamming on the Pacific Coast, learned Spanish in Venezuela, snorkeled with fish in Puerto Rico, visited old west towns in Arizona, rode the riverboats on the Mississippi, and sampled authentic Chinese food in China. But when he retired, he chose to live where he called home; Noxon, MT where he could tend his flowers, enjoy his birds, and work in his shop restoring his ‘49 Ford. What a full life. Wade was preceded in his death by his parents, Harvey and Francis Nelsen, and Ivan and Isobel Rasmussen, his half brothers Darryl Nelsen and Derbin Nelsen, and his wife, Faye Nelsen. He is survived by his half brother, Neil Nelsen of St. John, WA, his four children Jerry (Janis) Nelsen of Orofino, ID, Terry (Teresa) Nelsen of Orofino, ID, Susan (Ron) Stade of West Richland, WA, and Sandra (Dave) Szambelan of Spokane, WA, as well as by fourteen grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. A memorial service for Wade is scheduled for Saturday, August 13th, 2011 at three o’clock M.S.T. at the cemetery in Heron, Montana.