Ronald Van Nelson, 73, Norwich, formerly of Minot, died Thursday, April 14, 2022 in a Minot Hospital.

Van was born December 10, 1948 at Rugby, North Dakota, the son of Glen and Helen (Van Sweringen) Nelson. He was raised and educated at Rugby and graduated from Rugby High School in 1966. He continued his education at Minot State University, prior to entering into active duty service with the USAF in 1968.  He honorably served his country during the Vietnam era and was stationed at Warren and Cheyenne, Wyoming and then Guam until 1971 when he was honorably discharged and returned to North Dakota.

Van was employed in Minot at Westland Oil Company in their computer center and later locally for National Cash Register (NCR). He and his lifetime companion, Elizabeth “Veve” Hiller moved to Colorado to work for Hewlett Packard as a computer systems analyst. They would live in Greeley and later Ft Collins with the company until retiring in 1989. They lived in Chetemal, Mexico for a brief time before returning to Minot and then Norwich in 2010.  From this union, two sons, Erik and Michael were born.

Van’s primary focus in his later years, was spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He had a great sense of humor and was known for his wit.

His loving family includes, lifetime companion, Veve Nelson; sons, Erik (Jana) Nelson, Minot and Michael Nelson of Minot; grandchildren and great grandchildren to include: Chelsea (Joe), Marli (Josh), Alexandra, Zach, Ashley, Natalie, Noah, Grayson and Aspen; siblings, Carol (Roger) Morill, Cohasset, MN, Lois (Ken) Lucier, Moorhead, MN, and Jay Nelson, Leadville, CO; several nieces and nephews.

Van was preceded in death by his, parents and brother, Dale Nelson.

Gathering/Booksigning for Van:  Wednesday, April 20, 2022 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.  At his request there will not be a viewing.