Joan (Jennings) Nelson

Our loving wife, mother, and grandmother, Marian Joan (Jennings) Nelson, 69, passed away peacefully in her home in Honeyville, UT surrounded by family on the morning of Feb. 23, 2025.

Joan was born on Aug. 30, 1955, in Casper, WY. She was raised in Texas and graduated from King High School in Corpus Christi in 1973. She then went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics at University of Wyoming in 1977.

She married the love of her life, Bruce, AKA “her hubby”, on Dec. 20, 1975, in the Logan LDS Temple, and they welcomed their first child in 1980. They went on to have a total of six children, and they LOVED having such a big family. As with most big families, our home was LOUD and FULL of homemade food. Even in the chaos of wrestling matches, and teaching family values, Joan would be in the kitchen singing to the radio, and being the ‘calm to the chaos’. And to boot, she did it all drug-free! 

She travelled all over the world with her husband. From swimming in the ocean in Hawaii to cuddling Koala’s in Australia, she has seen it all! She travelled from Germany to Paris to Japan to Canada, and even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. She has always been adamant about living every single day – and that’s exactly what she did. 

As per usual, life brought challenges. She lost two brothers and her father early in life. She said she was in a bit of a depressed hole, but she told herself, “You know what? Snap out of it, girl! You need to get back up and climb out of this hole.” She and Bruce then began running. This led to a new life – they began running marathons, ultra-marathons, and every race in between. They travelled all around America running races and making so many wonderful memories together. In fact, she finished her 60th marathon in June. 

Our mom was a very successful Longaberger Branch Leader, and earned the highest award the company bestows upon its employees. She inspired so many women to join her team, and empowered them with so much confidence. She loved her time travelling to the ‘basket building’ in Ohio, and holding events with her closest friends. 

She is truly the best cook there ever was! She was known for her famous cheese breadsticks, her big cinnamon rolls, her grits, her sausage gravy and biscuits, her rolls, and her homemade noodles. She was the queen of canning, and always had the biggest garden in town! She shared her love of cooking with so many, and encouraged others to cook too. She hosted a very exclusive cookie exchange each year. She had high standards for the cookies, and everyone gladly rose to the occasion. What many did not know, is that she would deliver dozens of cookies to those that she knew needed a little extra love.

If our mom loved you, she LOVED you fiercely. She would spoil you with love, food, and be your BIGGEST cheerleader! She made sure no one was ever left without a meal, and hosted many people for Thanksgiving dinner. She delivered food to anyone and everyone, and would give the shirt off of her back, if needed (in fact, she made her husband do that once or twice.) She served in many church callings, and really enjoyed helping in the scouting program.

Four months ago, Joan was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma brain tumor. She passed away after fighting it with incredible strength and determination. We’re so grateful for all of the love we received over the last four months. In the end, she said “how lucky am I to be loved by so many? This would have been awful to go through alone.”

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, Bruce M. Jennings, Jr. and Ruby Berneice Jennings (Locke); her two brothers, Bruce M. Jennings III and Gordon Jene Jennings; her brother-in-law, William Vernen Plocek; and her half-sister, Beverly Jennings.

Joan is survived by her husband of 50 years, Bruce Nelson; their six kids, Bruce Martin Nelson (Jason Maurer) of Austin, TX, Kirk Nelson (Indi Nelson) of Petersboro, UT, Thomas Nelson (Cassie Nelson) of Germany/UT, Jenalee Esplin (Carson Esplin) of Smithfield, UT, Chad Nelson (Kelsey Nelson) of Arlington, WA, Kyla Hillam (Jeremy Hillam) of Thatcher, UT; 18 grandchildren, who were the light of her life; and her siblings Charles Jennings of Willard, UT and Maribeth Plocek of Casper, WY.

Everyone is invited to her celebration of life at the Honevyille LDS church, 2620 West 6980 North Honeyville, UT 84314, on Friday, Feb. 28th, 2025, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. 

The visitation will be held at the Honeyville Church on Saturday, March 1, 2025, from 9:30am to 10:30am, and the funeral will follow at 11:00am.