1987
Matthew
2005
Matthew Nelson
October 5, 1987 — July 24, 2005
Matthew Jon Nelson was born on October 05, 1987 to parents Steve and Debbie Nelson at the Wheaton Community Hospital in Wheaton, Minnesota. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Clinton, Minnesota on November 08, 1987 and confirmed at the same church on October 27, 2002.
Blond-haired, blue eyed Matt complemented the family and with his happy, easy-going personality brought so much joy into the home.
As a baby Matt was content and easy to please. With toddler-hood approaching, he found his thumb and all knew when it was nap or bedtime because that right thumb was planted in his mouth and he was twirling either his cuddler's hair or his own. Deb and Steve had to persuade him it was a habit he needed to break before starting school.
Matt's laid-back attitude was evident from his early years as well. When the other siblings or cousins were busy cleaning up their toys, Matt was slowly walking around, gently kicking the toys toward someone else to pick up. His creativeness was obvious in the different activities he found - whether it was making a bike ramp to put at the end of the dock so the cousins could jump from it into the lake or redesigning a bicycle (no matter who it belonged to), Matt was always thinking.
Matt's eating became less finicky as he grew. As a child, you would not find Matt using a glass anyone else used or sharing a pop with anyone. On one occasion, on his trip out to his cousins he was eating a bag of Sour Cream & Onion chips. Uncle Gene reached over and grabbed a chip out of the bag. Matt looked at Gene and said, "You can have the rest I guess." He wasn't going to eat anymore of those as Gene probably touched more than the one he ate! As he matured, all that had changed and he wasn't quite as afraid of germs and did even share.
Matt had a great smile. It didn' seem to make a difference if he was having a good day, finding a little trouble or analyzing a situation, if you acknowledged Matt, he turned to you with that grin. That smile was so heart-warming. He would turn to his mom on his way out the door, flash that grin and say, "Don't worry about it Mom, I'll be okay."
Matt had so many good friends. Idle time was not in his vocabulary and he never had time for helping out because he had someplace to be and someone to meet. His home was their home and their home was his.
The pontoon proved to be one of the wisest investments his parents could make. From the pre-teen years he was maneuvering it and co-piloting with dad's watchful eye. By the summer of 2004, he was becoming more independent with the pontoon but still ranked behind brother Jesse as the pilot. With Jesse in Iraq this past summer, Captain Matt claimed the pontoon and he and his friends share many memories on the lake.
Matt had many prized possessions among those being his clothes. Little sister, Kelsey, knew how to get to him by "sneaking" a shirt to wear. Very seldom did she make it out of the house with it on. His most prized possession, however, was his cell phone. During a stint of cash being a little low, he contemplated selling his car so he wouldn't have to give up his cell phone. Little did he know, that cell phone was a blessing for mom and dad also.
Matthew has lived his entire life in Clinton, Minnesota. He attended Clinton-Graceville Elementary School and then the Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley Middle and High Schools. Matt would have been a senior at CGB this fall.
Matthew passed away on Sunday, July 24, 2005, as result of a motor vehicle accident near Morris, MN.
Preceding Matthew in death were his grandparents Gilford and Violet Nelson, Aunt Joann Cardwell, cousins Keelan Redfield, Jason, Jachelle and Gwen Boothby and step-grandfather Ellsworth Monson.
Matthew is survived by his parents Steve and Debbie Nelson; brother Jesse; sister Kelsey; grandparents Connie Monson and Dick & Betty Casper; aunts and uncles, Linda Casper, Pam (Rod) Ridgeway, Wanda (Steve) Howe, Donna (Gene) Moberg, Carla (Ray) Stein, Roxanne (Rod) Ehrp, Jerome (Suz) Nelson, Larry Cardwell, Mary Jane (Fran) Boothby, and Linda (Ron) Teske, and many cousins.
Blond-haired, blue eyed Matt complemented the family and with his happy, easy-going personality brought so much joy into the home.
As a baby Matt was content and easy to please. With toddler-hood approaching, he found his thumb and all knew when it was nap or bedtime because that right thumb was planted in his mouth and he was twirling either his cuddler's hair or his own. Deb and Steve had to persuade him it was a habit he needed to break before starting school.
Matt's laid-back attitude was evident from his early years as well. When the other siblings or cousins were busy cleaning up their toys, Matt was slowly walking around, gently kicking the toys toward someone else to pick up. His creativeness was obvious in the different activities he found - whether it was making a bike ramp to put at the end of the dock so the cousins could jump from it into the lake or redesigning a bicycle (no matter who it belonged to), Matt was always thinking.
Matt's eating became less finicky as he grew. As a child, you would not find Matt using a glass anyone else used or sharing a pop with anyone. On one occasion, on his trip out to his cousins he was eating a bag of Sour Cream & Onion chips. Uncle Gene reached over and grabbed a chip out of the bag. Matt looked at Gene and said, "You can have the rest I guess." He wasn't going to eat anymore of those as Gene probably touched more than the one he ate! As he matured, all that had changed and he wasn't quite as afraid of germs and did even share.
Matt had a great smile. It didn' seem to make a difference if he was having a good day, finding a little trouble or analyzing a situation, if you acknowledged Matt, he turned to you with that grin. That smile was so heart-warming. He would turn to his mom on his way out the door, flash that grin and say, "Don't worry about it Mom, I'll be okay."
Matt had so many good friends. Idle time was not in his vocabulary and he never had time for helping out because he had someplace to be and someone to meet. His home was their home and their home was his.
The pontoon proved to be one of the wisest investments his parents could make. From the pre-teen years he was maneuvering it and co-piloting with dad's watchful eye. By the summer of 2004, he was becoming more independent with the pontoon but still ranked behind brother Jesse as the pilot. With Jesse in Iraq this past summer, Captain Matt claimed the pontoon and he and his friends share many memories on the lake.
Matt had many prized possessions among those being his clothes. Little sister, Kelsey, knew how to get to him by "sneaking" a shirt to wear. Very seldom did she make it out of the house with it on. His most prized possession, however, was his cell phone. During a stint of cash being a little low, he contemplated selling his car so he wouldn't have to give up his cell phone. Little did he know, that cell phone was a blessing for mom and dad also.
Matthew has lived his entire life in Clinton, Minnesota. He attended Clinton-Graceville Elementary School and then the Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley Middle and High Schools. Matt would have been a senior at CGB this fall.
Matthew passed away on Sunday, July 24, 2005, as result of a motor vehicle accident near Morris, MN.
Preceding Matthew in death were his grandparents Gilford and Violet Nelson, Aunt Joann Cardwell, cousins Keelan Redfield, Jason, Jachelle and Gwen Boothby and step-grandfather Ellsworth Monson.
Matthew is survived by his parents Steve and Debbie Nelson; brother Jesse; sister Kelsey; grandparents Connie Monson and Dick & Betty Casper; aunts and uncles, Linda Casper, Pam (Rod) Ridgeway, Wanda (Steve) Howe, Donna (Gene) Moberg, Carla (Ray) Stein, Roxanne (Rod) Ehrp, Jerome (Suz) Nelson, Larry Cardwell, Mary Jane (Fran) Boothby, and Linda (Ron) Teske, and many cousins.