Daniel Nelson
October 23, 2022
Daniel Nelson, 63, of Jacksonville, FL passed away on a sunny afternoon on Sunday, October 23. Those close to Daniel knew that he had a long and difficult battle with multiple illnesses. His family is comforted knowing he is no longer in pain and is finally at peace in Heaven.
Daniel was born on April 12, 1959, to Robert and Marilyn Nelson in Virginia, MN. After graduating from Virginia High School in 1977, he went on to study Education at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
In February of 1988, Daniel met his wife and best friend, Joyce in Rochester, MN where they were later married on June 10, 1989. They were blessed with three little angels, Shelby, Sara, and Sophie, and lived in Las Vegas, NV up to retirement. Favorite family memories include playing make-believe, making meals together, watching scary movies, and of course, going to California for adventures at Huntington Beach and Disneyland.
Daniel taught for over 35 years as a beloved teacher in Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, Texas, and finally, Nevada where he and Joyce were fortunate to be able to team teach second grade for 17 years. Daniel so enjoyed passing on his love for storytelling, character-building, and learning about new things to his students. Outside of his professional life, Daniel developed a passion for bodybuilding, finding joy in being healthy and fit to the age of 50.
Daniel retired from teaching in August 2017. He and Joyce moved to Florida in 2019, fulfilling a lifelong dream to live by the ocean. He developed a love for gardening, antiquing, snuggling with their family dog, Bumble, and baking for family and friends.
He is survived by his loving wife, Joyce Nelson (Jacksonville, FL); his precious daughters, Shelby Strong and husband, Andrew Strong (Green Bay, WI), Sara Nelson (Green Bay, WI), and Sophie Nelson (Melbourne, Australia); his sister, Debbie, and husband, Dr. Mike Koeplin (Woodbury, MN); his brother, Doug Nelson (Virginia, MN); mother, Marilyn Nelson (Virginia, MN), and many other beloved extended family members.
Crevasse's Simple Cremation is honored to serve the Nelson family.
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Daniel was the sweetest, most kind hearted, thoughtful and genuine brother and friend ! I will sure miss our conversations and all of his stories of the past !
It was painful to watch him suffer all these years with his health! He was such a fighter and wanted to be a part of everything despite his daily struggles.
Knowing he is finally set free from doctors, procedures and countless medication‘s is providing some peace while grieving his loss .
Joyce, Shelby, Sara and Sophie absolutely adored and loved him! He was so fortunate to be so well cared for and surrounded by such a loving family. I will be forever grateful to all of them !!!
We love you Daniel, Joyce, Shelby, Sara and Sophie with all our hearts ! One day we will all be together again🙏🏻
Love Debbie, Mike, Kelly, Brady, Cody, Kipp, Kylie, Justin, Mason, Beckham And Sofia ❤️
I’m so sorry for your loss of Daniel! He was an amazing man and I’m so blessed to call him my uncle! He was so lucky to have all of you! I love you!
Kelly Koeplin
So happy to have reconnected with Daniel over the past few years….such a warm and loving person!
I’m so sorry to hear of Dan’s passing. I had the pleasure of working with Dan and Joyce at Clyde Cox ES in Las Vegas. Dan was one of the sweetest “tough” guys I knew. My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire family.
Love Daniel’s stories! He was a wonderful man who loved his girls and was a caring teacher, always trying to do best for students and lead by example. You will be missed. It is an honor to have known you and work with you. So glad you are no longer in pain. Peace be with you. Love to all the family.
A note from the family: A service will be held at St. John's Cathedral on November 3 at 2:00 PM ET. If you plan to attend, please email Shelby at shelbystrong3@gmail.com. The service will also be live-streamed on the church website: https://www.jaxcathedral.org/st-johns-live/
I worked with Dan and Joyce at Clyde Cox ES. Not only were they co-workers, but they team taught my son, Matthew, when he was in 1st grade. They were a great balanced teaching team and gave him a great educational foundation. Dan was a very patient and kind person. Condolences sent to the family.
I met Dan and Joyce teaching at Clyde C. Cox and remember them as being devoted to each other. When the girls came, they were just as devoted to them as well. They are/were "marriage couple goals"! Gentle teddy bear. Prayers of comfort to all your family.
Danial and Joyce were team teaching when I taught second grade with them at Clyde Cox in Las Vegas. They had just had Shelby, and were so in love with her and each other. They had Sara and Sophie while we were teammates, and I was in awe at how they handled such a busy, loving life. My husband and I had the exact same wedding date, and Daniel and Joyce were such a powerful inspiration of never-wavering kindness and patience. I’m so sad that Daniel is gone, but I’m so thankful he created such a memorable life for all of those who were blessed to know him! Prayers for all the family.
I am honored to have taught with Dan and Joyce at Clyde C. Cox so many years ago. What lovely and kind people they are. The girls were little and Dan and Joyce were so happy to bring them to school. I loved Dan's smile and caring personality. He and Joyce were such a power couple-exemplary teachers. The whole family is in my thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.
Dear Joyce and Family,
We are so sorry for your loss – your family has always had a special place in our hearts! Our prayers and thoughts are with you.
The first time I visited with Daniel and Joyce, Daniel was proud to offer homemade traditional Scandinavian cookies. I enjoyed listening to Daniel recount stories about family traditions, and learned how much he loved Christmas lights and decorations.
Although I knew Daniel for a short time, it was obvious to me that he was a kind, and compassionate person. He will certainly be missed by Joyce and the “girls”, and others who were fortunate to have known him.
Rest in peace Daniel 🙏🏻✝️
We met Daniel and Joyce (and Bumble) as neighbors in Amelia Park. We shared a love for Minnesota, teaching and the importance of quality of life. We send our love and good energy to Joyce and all of their dear family.
Kayley was the lucky one that had the privilege of benefiting from Mr Nelson’s wonderful story telling and the team teaching of both Nelsons. Our family always enjoyed running into your family around town, too! Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
I graduated with Danny from VHS (Virginia High School) in 1977, we were both part of the VHS Band and friends during our high school years. We both went on to different Universities after graduating from VHS and slowly lost contact. I have many fond memories of Danny, but what has always stood out was his kindness. He was a good friend during some difficult years for both of us. Upon hearing of his loss it has hit me surprising hard after all these years, I can only image the loss his family and friends must feel. Your husband and father was a very good young man that I had the pleasure to spend my youth with and turned into a wonderful man, not a surprise to me. I will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless you all, Pete Riley
Dear Joyce and girls,
I am so sorry to hear of Daniels passing. He had such a kind heart and was such a caring person. I have such great memories of skiing with him. I am so fortunate to have had such a wonderful cousin. He was fortunate to have all of you in his life and help him during his health struggles. May he rest in peace and my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. With love, Derek
A dear friend / co teacher who have known for so many years . I just hope there is no glass candy sitting around in dishes in heaven for him to try and chew on Joyce ! i will miss our many phone calls, visits, Face times, emails , cards and gifts we exchanged. Never a dull moment and I hope he can behave for the Big Sheriff in Heaven and not get into trouble ! He would call and ask my opinion if he was in the dog house with the Fla sheriff and I had to agree with her . So I hope he can lay back and enjoy Heaven and not need those handcuffs up there . i will miss Dan and the joy he brought into the lives of so many including myself .
Daniel was the sweetest, most kind hearted, person and teacher. Despite his own illnesses and struggles, he was such a great friend to me. He found the time and strength to reach out often. Whether it a phone call, a book or a voice message, he never forgot about me. He helped me to have courage and to restore my faith. He was always concerned and let me know he was always holding me in his prayers, as I was for him.
Although it is so sad that he is no longer with us, he is finally set free from all of his pain and suffering.
He was so incredibly fortunate to be so loved and cared for and surrounded by his loving girls, Joyce, Shelby, Sara and Sophie.
Holding you all in my prayers🙏🏻-Audrey Rush
Daniel was the sweetest, most kind hearted, person and teacher. Despite his own illnesses and struggles, he was such a great friend to me. He found the time and strength to reach out often. Whether it a phone call, a book or a voice message, he never forgot about me. He helped me to have courage and to restore my faith. He was always concerned and let me know he was always holding me in his prayers, as I was for him.
Although it is so sad that he is no longer with us, he is finally set free from all of his pain and suffering.
He was so incredibly fortunate to be so loved and cared for and surrounded by his loving girls, Joyce, Shelby, Sara and Sophie.
Holding you all in my prayers🙏🏻-Audrey Rush
A dear friend / co teacher who have known for so many years . I just hope there is no glass candy sitting around in dishes in heaven for him to try and chew on Joyce ! i will miss our many phone calls, visits, Face times, emails , cards and gifts we exchanged. Never a dull moment and I hope he can behave for the Big Sheriff in Heaven and not get into trouble ! He would call and ask my opinion if he was in the "dog house" with the Fla sheriff and I had to agree with her . So I hope he can lay back and enjoy Heaven and not need those handcuffs up there . i will miss Dan and the joy he brought into the lives of so many including myself .
joyce, so sorry for your loss. i know your many memories together will help you through this sad time. thinking of you.