Dr. Herbert C. Q. Nelson

Dr. Herbert C. Q. Nelson

1921 to 2012

Dr. Herbert Cecil Quinten Nelson, 91, passed away at Sidney Regional Medical Center on Dec. 25, 2012. He courageously fought a long, hard battle against lung disease.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 29, in the Light Memorial Presbyterian Church with Rev. Dr. Dixie Voss Anders officiating. Military graveside honors will follow in the Greenwood Cemetery.

Friends may stop at the Gehrig-Stitt Chapel on Friday from 1 to 7 p.m. with the family present from 4 to 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Light Memorial Presbyterian Church Building Fund.

You may view Dr. Nelson’s Book of Memories, leave condolences, photos and stories at http://www.gehrigstittchapel.com.

Gehrig-Stitt Chapel & Cremation Service LLC is in charge of the arrangements.

Herb was the ninth of 12 children born to Edward M. and Verda J. (Glassburn) Nelson. All the children were born on the farm homestead in southwest Cheyenne County. He attended a one-room school through the ninth grade before finishing high school in Sidney. He graduated with the Class of 1939. The following September he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and worked near Bridgeport. It was here that he met a young lady named Dorothy Roberts.

In September of 1941, he enrolled in college at Chadron State. He pursued pre-med courses. After completing one year at Chadron, he still carried the flame for Dorothy. They eloped in July 1942 and married. Soon, in August of 1942, he was inducted into the U.S. Army. He was a dental lab technician assigned to the Medical Detachment of Support Services Command at Fort F.E. Warren, Wyo. Dorothy worked at the military installation in Cheyenne, Wyo.

After the war, Herb enrolled in studies at the University of Nebraska. He and Dorothy now had three sons. With the help of the GI Bill, he graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry in June 1952. With the assistance of his brother Arleigh, the family moved back to Sidney where he began his dental practice. He loved his chosen work and made it last 50 years.

Herb led a distinguished life of service to his family and community. He and Dorothy joined the Light Memorial Presbyterian Church where he was an Elder and a 50 year member of the church’s choir. He was a Boy Scout Cub Master, a member of the Sidney Public School Board for 12 years, a member of the Board of the Educational Service Unit #14, and was appointed to serve on the Board of Western Nebraska Community College. He sang with the Fort Sidney Colonels. He was president of the Western District Dental Association and the Nebraska Dental Association. He was inducted into the Nebraska Dental Association Hall of Fame, and the International College of Dentists. He was Past-President of the Sidney Chapter of Rotary International. Governor Johanns appointed him an “Admiral in the Navy of the Great State of Nebraska.”

Herb is survived by his wife of 70 years, Dorothy; and his three sons, Lyndell “Swede” (and special friend Marcia White), Laurence (Cheryl), and Gayle (Angie). In addition there are seven grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. Siblings Wilfred (Dorothy M.), Arleigh (Aurleen) and Irma Vanover also survive him, as do numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Verda Nelson; brothers, Maurice, Allan, Lewellen, Delbert, Laverne, Eugene, Wayne; and sister, Cressie.