Beverly Nelson

Beverly Ann McMurphy was born November 15, 1935, in Canby, Iowa, first child of Bernard and Marjorie (Christensen) McMurphy. She passed away Friday, April 13, 2012, at the Atlantic Nursing and Rehab Center in Atlantic, Iowa.


Bev was baptized at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Atlantic with her cousins Bob Bebensee and Mardell Richter in July of 1936. She grew up in Casey, Iowa, and attended school there until her freshman year when they moved to Atlantic, Iowa, where she graduated from Atlantic High School with the class of 1953.

After high school she went on to graduate from Barnes College of Cosmetology in Council Bluffs, Iowa. On April 11, 1958, at the original St. Paul's Lutheran Church on Walnut Street in Atlantic, she was united in marriage to E.C. "Jiggs" Nelson. While raising her children she ran a beauty shop in her own home. In the 1980s she opened up her own book store called "The Book Nook".

Her hobbies included reading, sewing, quilting, and dearly enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. Those who knew her understood her passion for the BPO Does and the Purple Passion Red Hat Society. During her tenure with the Does she served as president twice and held numerous offices within the order.

Preceding Bev in death were her husband, Jiggs Nelson; her parents, Bernard and Marjorie McMurphy; her sister, Bernice Nelson, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Donald Nelson, Clifford and Vera Nelson, Willis and Evelyn Lippold and Helen and Orval Nielsen.

Surviving Bev are her two daughters, Susan Brownlee and her husband, Dean of Atlantic, Iowa, and Sandra Crecelius and her husband, Kurt of Atlantic, Iowa; her three sons, Max Nelson of the Ukraine, David (Jiggs) Nelson and his fiancé, Susie of Atlantic, Iowa, and Bernard Nelson of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; 13 grandchildren, Amy Brownlee and friend Monte Rubel, Nathan Brownlee and his wife, Sarah, Scott Brownlee and friend, Jeremy Story, Adam, Lindsey, Bret, Aaron, Daniel and his wife, Mallory, and Jon Nelson, Tammy and Kasey Johnson, and Jeremy and Autumn Crecelius. Known as G.G. to her beloved 8 great-grandchildren she also leaves behind Joshua, Ashlyn, Kamron, Dominic, Chole, Echo, Sieanna and Brooklyn. Also surviving are an aunt, Mary Ann McMurphy; brother-in-law, LaVerne Nelson and his wife, Judy of Boise, Idaho; as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, and two very special friends, Mary Ann and Shirley.

Visitation with family present will be held from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., with a Does service at 6:00 p.m., on Monday, April 16, 2012, at Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic.

The funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Atlantic. Burial will be in the Atlantic Cemetery.