Jay Curtis Nelson

April 17, 1940 ~ February 20, 2013

Jay Nelson passed away peacefully at Hospice of the Valley in Gilbert, Arizona, on February 20, after a long battle with cancer. He was born to Wayne Curtis Nelson and Ethel Kissinger Nelson on April 17, 1940 in Stollings, West Virginia and spent his formative years in South Charleston, West Virginia.

Jay was an honors graduate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 1963, after which he spent a distinguished career with Union Carbide Corporation and ASiMi Corporation, from which he retired as Director of Engineering in 1996. He loved woodworking, golf and bridge and was an accomplished musician. He led and sang in large and small choral groups across the country for many years.

Jay was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he served as deacon, elder, church administrator, director of music and chairman of the building committee at the various churches he attended throughout his life.

He is survived by his wife Margaret Marie Kime Nelson, sons Jon and Jeffery, stepsons David and Phillip Simpson, daughters-in-law Sara Simpson and Kristine Nelson, and grandchildren Micah, Owen and Andrew Nelson and Zachary and Molly Simpson.

An internment service will be held at St. Albans, West Virginia. Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Mesa, 161 N. Mesa Dr., Mesa, AZ 85201 or to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014.