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Wayne Harley Nelson
Oct 7, 1952 – Aug 5, 2023
Service
Saturday, October 7, 2023
1:00 pm
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 212 – Sylvan Lake, Alberta
Obituary
WAYNE HARLEY NELSON
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the departure of Wayne Harley Nelson, who passed away, while on an expedition, to search for rocks and minerals in the Kettle River Valley in British Columbia (not far from Vernon, BC) on August 5th , 2023.
Wayne left behind his family, his ex-wife and lifelong Soulmate, Sandra Hengstler, his son Matthew (Matt) Nelson, and daughter Michelle Nelson, and grandchildren: Emma, Ausha, Jacob and Finnley (Finn) all of Red Deer/Sylvan Lake, Alberta.
As well, Wayne is survived by his brothers and sisters: Loren (Janice) Nelson of Glenboro Manitoba, Celeste West of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Roger (Grace) Nelson of Calgary, Alberta, Dolores (Ron) Friesen of Winnipeg, Mark Nelson of Winnipeg, Marie Nelson of Winnipeg, Renee Nelson (Jeffrey) of Winnipeg. He will also be missed by his sister-in-law Laurie Hengstler of Sylvan Lake as well as many nieces and nephews.
Wayne was predeceased by his father Harley and his mother Therese of Glenboro, his father-in-law Al Hengstler and mother-in-law Fran Hengstler of Red Deer, his brother-in-law Donnie Hengstler of Red Deer, his brother-in-law Larry West of Winnipeg, and nephew Devon Smith of Red Deer.
Wayne was born on October 7, 1952, in Roseau, Minnesota, USA. The hospital was just across the border and all the people living in that area of southeastern Manitoba went there to have their baby. Wayne grew up on the Nelson farm at Sprague, Manitoba. There he learned all aspects of farming and animal husbandry. Wayne and Loren did everything together growing up and they earned money selling the cream from the cows they milked.
They bought a record player and records to play, to entertain the whole family. The family moved to Killarney, Manitoba in 1969, where Wayne attended high school. Wayne always had an adventurous, independent spirit. He spread his wings early in life as a teenager and went off across the country to sell magazine subscriptions. Then he headed off to northern Manitoba to work with his uncle and aunt’s new service station and restaurant business at Ponton, Manitoba which was on an isolated northern highway. In the early 1970’s, with a friend, Wayne travelled to Calgary and arrived there during The Calgary Stampede. The vitality and youthful spirit of the city attracted him. On his return to Winnipeg, he quit his job and moved to Calgary. He found that when he arrived, after the Stampede, Calgary was a quiet, sleepy city. None the less, he decided to make it his new home. He started a package delivery business with a friend.
One of the many new friends he met in Calgary was Fran, his future mother-in-law, who introduced him to Sandra. Wayne and Soul mate – Sandra were married the summer of 1978 in Calgary. Wayne’s new in-laws were helpful with financial support toward several of Wayne’s pursuits.
In 1978, Wayne sold that delivery business and moved to Salt Spring Island, BC. There they lived on family property while Wayne worked odd jobs and Sandy worked with soils and plants, greenhouses and gardens were her specialty. As a result of an unfortunate accident of falling from a roof, Wayne injured his foot and became unable to do the work that he had been doing.
Wayne was offered a job at H&L Motors (his father Harley and brother Loren’s business) to sell farm machinery. So Wayne and Sandra moved to Glenboro, Manitoba in 1984. Matthew was born soon after in Manitoba.
In 1988, Wayne and Sandra moved back to farmland south of Sylvan Lake, and that year Michelle was born in Alberta. There, they built a home and later grew organic strawberries. Also, Wayne had various work positions: selling memberships for the Western Canadian Wheat Growers and Schwan’s Home Delivery. In the 1990’s he worked in a partnership to export livestock to China, including among other things, uniquely Ostriches.
Sometime later, Wayne and Sandra separated and later divorced, but they remained on the best of terms, being very helpful and supportive to each other and their children until the moment he passed.
In 2002, Wayne, while running his own truck delivery service in Red Deer, suffered from a major stroke. It was significant enough to cause him to close his business, even though he eventually recovered with minimal deficits. He then moved back to Glenboro to work at H&L Motors to help open a satellite office in Steinbach, Manitoba and sell farm machinery.
Between 2008 and last year, Wayne divided his time between assisting his son Mathew with the development of his businesses on Vancouver Island, and with H&L Motors and with his parents Harley and Therese in Manitoba. During his time in Manitoba, Wayne dedicated time in supporting his parents through their transitions later in life. After Harley passed, Wayne moved to the manor attached to the Personal Care Home in Glenboro, so he could be a frequent visitor to his Mom and he continued that until she passed away.
Since 2011, Wayne spent his time on Vancouver Island with his son Matthew, helping him with his family and his son’s business. Last year, in 2022, Wayne and Matthew moved back to Alberta, first to the farm at Sylvan Lake. Then later Wayne moved to a senior’s apartment at Linden, Alberta.
Wayne was a dedicated worker, who was willing to try almost anything to support his family, an adventurer, a great sense of humor, and a spiritual man who deeply loved and cared for all those around him, especially his mother and father, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
2023
Sylvan Lake Funeral Home & Crematorium
Death notice for the town of: Sylvan Lake, Province: Alberta
death notice Wayne Harley Nelson 2023
obituaries notice Wayne Harley Nelson 2023
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Wayne Harley Nelson 2023 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.