Jane Nelson

Jane Beasley Nelson Cheyenne, W.Y. - Jane Beasley Nelson, 98, wife of the late Paul Robert Nelson, died Saturday, February 16, 2013. Jane was born October 19, 1914 in East St. Louis, Illinois and was the daughter of Arthur Beasley and Minnie Hamilton Beasley. An advocate for women's and civil rights, she was expelled from a Free Methodist college in Illinois for wearing lipstick and teaching a boy to dance. She went on to get her BA from the University of Illinois, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and met her future husband, editor of the Illini yearbook and a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Jane earned her MA in counseling from the State University of New York at Buffalo. During her career she was secretary for the Buffalo Newspaper Guild, and executive with the Buffalo Area Girl Scouts Council, Guidance Counselor at the State University of New York Buffalo Urban Center and a long serving member of the Eden New York School Board. Her BA was in music and she was an accomplished soprano soloist for the First Presbyterian Church, Glen Ellyn, Ill. And Central Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, N.Y. Making her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming for the past 29 years she was honored as Cheyenne's oldest volunteer for her work at the local hospital. In 2011 she was honored by the Wyoming Bowling Association as the state's oldest bowler at 96 years of age (180 bowling average). She is survived by her three sons, Paul R. Nelson (Sandy) of Holt, Michigan, James B. Nelson (Cheryl) of Chapin, SC, Jon S. Nelson of Cheyenne, W.Y., and eight grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. Condolences may be sent to www.schraderfuneral.com or nelsjm@bellsouth.net.