Mary Ann Nelson

Mary Ann Nelson, 60, a former Gillette resident, died Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, at the Israel Family Hospice House in Ames, Colo., of cancer.

Mrs. Nelson was born on March 21, 1952, in Parkston, S.D., to Theodore and Olga (Herr) Schnabel. She was a 1970 graduate of Tripp High School and graduated in 1974 from the University of South Dakota at Springfield.

She married Bruce Allen Nelson in May 1974. They divorced in November 1996.

She retired in 2008 as an elementary teacher for Campbell County School District in Gillette.

Mrs. Nelson had been a Colorado resident for the past four years. She enjoyed sewing, gardening and being with family and her grandchildren.

She is survived by two daughters, Heather Spalding, of Colorado; Heidi Nelson, of Anchorage, Alaska; two grandchildren; and a brother LaRee Schnabel, of Anoka, Minn.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Allen Schnabel in February 1999.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in loving memory of Mrs. Nelson. Condolences can be attached to the obituary at www.gillettenewsrecord.com.