Dennis Dean Nelson
January 3, 1956 – October 17, 2017
Dennis Nelson, 61, Sioux Falls, SD died Tuesday, October 17, 2017 after an epic battle with lung cancer.
A Celebration of Life will be held in the near future. Contributions in memory of Dennis may be sent to 3004 South West Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD, 57105.
Dennis was born January 3, 1956 to Henry and Dorothy (De Puy) Nelson in Yankton, SD. He grew up in Yankton and graduated from Yankton High School in 1974. He served in the Army from 1974 to the mid 1980’s. After completing his military service, Dennis attended community college in Sioux Falls, SD, and Monterey, CA, for Computer Science. From 1987 to 2010, he worked as a Network Administrator for CTB/McGraw-Hill, Hampton-Brown, and National Geographic School Publishing.
Dennis met and married his wife, Velina Onate, in Monterey, CA and they were married on September 21, 1993. Dennis and his family returned to Sioux Falls, South Dakota on August 1, 2012. He wanted to be near his siblings.
Dennis’ favorite thing to do was to watch the Dallas Cowboys games on TV. He liked fixing computers and working in his little backyard garden. He had a quirky sense of humor that made everyone smile.
Dennis will be greatly missed by his wife of 24 years, Velina; two daughters, Rachel (Kalonji) and Caitlin, Sioux Falls; three siblings, Gloria Cram, Sioux Falls; James Nelson, Yankton, SD and John Nelson, Woodbridge, VA; parent-in-law, Peni (Robert) Luckey, Brandon, FL; Cori Onate, Santa Fe, NM; David Onate, El Paso, TX, and Eliza Onate (Jesse), Eureka, CA and many nieces and nephews and other family and friends.
Dennis was preceded in death by his parents Henry and Dorothy (De Puy) Nelson and two siblings.
You are every single cherished long walk.
You are all of the night lit dinner talks.
You are the long trips we took on summer days.
You are everything I could never say.
You are every favorite t-shirt you wore.
You are the ladybugs near our back door.
You are all the times I spent as a child,
You are the sea, the tropics, the fearsome wild;
You are the fallen leaves on our front lawn
You are everything from dusk until dawn
You are the giant, gray truck you left behind,
You will always be the loving father of my favorite times.
• Rachel Ann Nelson
Sorry to hear about Dennis. I knew him in High School and he was a great guy, very nice and unassuming and thoughtful in everything he did.
We miss you, Dennis! You went too soon. Love from the West Coast.
I loved working with Dennis at Nat Geo. He always made me laugh and made work fun. He loved telling me about his family. He will be missed. Sending my love.