Cheryl Linda Nelson

Cheryl Linda Nelson, born January 11, 1950 in Winnebago, Minnesota, passed away July 2, 2026 at the age of 76, after more than a decade living with Frontotemporal Dementia. She passed peacefully at home with her children by her side. It was a long, hard road and she walked it with more grace than anyone had a right to expect.

Cheryl grew up in North Mankato, Minnesota, where she discovered early that she had an eye for beauty and a gift for making things. She married Lee Nelson, and together they raised a family and built 35 years of life rooted in faith, community, and the quiet work of showing up for the people around them.

Faith was the center of Cheryl's life. She was a longtime member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights, St. John's Lutheran Church in Rosemount, and most recently Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Lakeville, where she contributed to the congregation in countless ways including arranging flowers for the sanctuary and coordinating the Armful of Love charity family gift program, which each Christmas brought toys, clothing, and gifts to families in need. For a meaningful chapter of her life she was deeply involved in the Cursillo Movement, a faith community whose spirit of renewal suited her perfectly, even traveling to Utah to bring the Cursillo spirit to a community largely outside its reach.

She went on to pursue vocational training and built a quiet, steady working life in dental offices, home childcare, bookkeeping, and office support at places like Ethan Allen, Met Life, and Horace Mann. She was the kind of person who showed up, did the work, and rarely asked for recognition.

She was a maker. Counted cross stitch, flower arranging, sewing. She made clothing, including prom outfits and bridesmaid dresses, things that took patience and care and a steady hand. She once won a 4-H ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair for a table setting demonstration, a fact her family referenced with great affection and mild teasing for decades.

Cheryl was quiet in the way that some people are quiet, not because they have nothing to say, but because they are watching, thinking, and then, when you least expect it, landing a zinger that leaves the room gasping. She saw the good in people long past the point others had given up. She forgave freely, sometimes to a fault, and put herself last so consistently that it became invisible. She deserved more credit than she ever received, and more rest than she ever allowed herself.

She had her own idea of a good time and she made no apologies for it. She loved Barry Manilow. She watched ‘Same Time Next Year” every year like a ritual. She never missed her soaps, and Hallmark movies were a given.

Cheryl is preceded in death by her husband, Lee Nelson; her parents, Donald and Alice Hart; her brother, Thomas Hart; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, John and Edna Nelson; and her sister-in-law, Darlene Nelson.

She is survived by her children, Matthew and Jessica Nelson; her sister, Catherine (Brian) Hendrickson; her sisters-in-law, Donna (Lance) Quick, Jeanne (Randy) Henegar, and Cathryn Hart; and many nieces, nephews, and friends who were lucky enough to know her.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 8th at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 16200 Dodd Lane, Lakeville, MN. Greeting at 11:30 AM, service at 12:00 PM. A reception to follow, details will be announced at the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to the family. Donations can also be made directly to the American Heart Association, Union Gospel Mission, or Lord of Life Lutheran Church.

Arrangements by Starkson Family ~ Anderson Chapel of Apple Valley.