Gary S. Nelson

Gary S. Nelson, 78 of

Stanley, N.D. passed

away November 16, 2019

at MCMC hospital in

Stanley.

Gary was born to Albert

and Edna (Byington) Nel-

son on May 18th, 1941.

He was the 11th child of

11 children in the family.

He married Jenette

Kulczyk Schule on June

30th, 1963. They were

married for 56 years.

Gary was an educator,

farmer, rancher and bank-

er. He attended UND

and Minot State Universi-ty as well as Superior

State College where he ob-

tained a specialist degree.

He was an investment

banker at Midland Bank

in Minneapolis, Minneso-ta before moving to Wash-

burn, Wisconsin where he

taught grades K-12 and

coached several sports.

He was also the Ski

School Director at Port

Mountain near Bayfield,

Wisconsin during that

time.

He brought his young

family back to Stanley in

1971, where he worked at

Scandia American Bank,

farmed, ranched and was

a volunteer fireman. He

was later elected

President of the North

Dakota Independent

Bankers.

Gary served on many

boards in his community.

He also held state and na-

tional organizational of-

fices for professional ski

instructors and pool

players. Gary refereed

pool competitions in Las

Vegas. He was an exa-

miner for the professional

Ski Association and men-

tored many in obtaining

their credentials in both

the fields of skiing and

pool competition.

It was very important to

Gary to help others to

reach their potential, and

he made special efforts

with the young. His

children, Scott and Ann

were the joy of his life

and he spent much time

with them. (He also

holds the distinction of

being the only man who

was able to teach his wife

to ski.)

The greatest trauma in

Gary’s life was when his

daughter, Ann, was killed

on 9/11 while working as

a Bond Broker for Cantor

FitzGerald in the World

Trade Center. One of the

things that saved his and

his wife’s sanity was that

their son, Scott, his wife,

Dawn Jensen Nelson, and

five grandchildren lived

in Stanley during the

years that followed and

shared their lives. Anoth-

er was the building of

Annie’s House Adaptive

Recreation program (in

cooperation with Anne

Carlson School). The

work there with the dis-

abled and wounded warri-

ors seemed to keep Ann’s

spirit alive. Gary spent

many hours instructing

skiing there.

Annie’s house is a colla-

borative effort by New

York Says Thank You

(founded by Jeff Parness),

Bottineau Winter Park

and friends and family.

The initial effort began

September 9, 2012, when

250 people from 23 dif-

ferent states arrived to

build the house. It was

then completed by faith-

ful volunteers.

Gary was preceded in

death by his parents and

all his siblings as well as

his daughter, Ann. He is

survived by his wife,

Jenette; his son, Scott; his

daughter -in-law, Dawn

Jensen Nelson; grandchil-

dren; Brittany Giesen (Jor-

dan), Brooke Nelson, Jesse

Nelson, Jeremiah Nelson

and B Nelson;

great-grandchildren,

Madison and George

Giesen; numerous

nieces, nephews and fam-

ily members.

Memorials are pre-

ferred to MCMC, Box 399,

Stanley, ND 58784, Ina

Mae Rude Aquatic Center,

PO Box 173, Stanley, ND

58784, Giving Hearts

Home Care LLC, PO Box

371, Stanley, ND 58784,

Annie’s House Adaptive

Recreating Program,

Winter Park Road, Bot-

tineau, ND 58318, or New

York Says Thank You

Foundation, 2472 Broad-

way #236, New York, NY

10025.

His memorial service

will be held at 10:30 am

on Monday, November 25,

2019 at American Luth-

eran Church in Stanley,

ND. Pastor Sarah Soren-

son will officiate. A

private family burial ser-

vice will be at a later date.

Friends may call one hour

prior to services at the

church.

Springan Stevenson

Funeral Home of Stanley

is assisting the family.

Friends may sign the on-

line register and share

condolences at

www.springanstevenson.c

om.