Iva L. Nelson

Iva was born Nov. 5, 1923 as the youngest daughter of Harold Franklin Kaley and "Maggie" Ruth Miers in Puxico, MI. Her older sister, "Cora" Evelyn Kaley was born March 5, 1921. Harold was a farmer who worked on his father's land. The Kaley family moved to Delta, CO on March 2, 1937 and bought their own farm on California Mesa where Harold raised wheat and kept several milk cows. Ruth and the girls raised chickens for the eggs and as fryers that they sold to the local grocery stores. They also sold cream and eggs to the neighbors for extra "pin money." When Iva went to Delta High, she loved her art classes best. She loved to draw with charcoals and paint with water colors. However, she wanted to be able to support herself so she took the high school business classes of typing, shorthand, bookkeeping and business math. She graduated from Delta High in May of 1942, right after the war began. Iva was always a spunky girl and she loved music and dancing. She learned to play guitar from a local teacher and enjoyed it so much she started to play 12-string. At the Christmas dance, Dec. 1944, she met a former student from Delta High, A.V. (Alther Vernon) Nelson, called "Red" by his friends. The two were married in 1945 in Grand Junction, CO and Iva joined him at Turner Air Force Base in Georgia for their "honeymoon." A.V. got transferred to a base in Texas and Iva went to join his family in Payette, ID. There she joined her new in-laws, Luther Garfield and Mary Ann Elizabeth Nelson and several sisters-in-law who were waiting for their husbands to come home from war. A.V. returned in 1946 and they decided to stay in Payette and bought land on Hwy 52 where A.V. built their house. A.V. and Iva raised their three children, Verna Lue, Charlie Vernon, And Kenneth Dale, who all later attended Payette High School. Iva ran the household and created an efficient and loving home for her family. A.V. was joined in business by his sons to found: A.V. Nelson and Sons Trucking. Iva was their bookkeeper and used the skills she had learned in her business classes to do their accounting. The family's best times were when they would go camping and fish from the family boats. Iva spent long hours learning to clean, cook and preserve the copious amounts of trout, bass, ducks, pheasants, deer and elk that they would find. She also kept her fruit cellar full of the best canned peaches, pears, pickles and jams. A.V. and Iva lived long and productive lives. They both loved their family and friends, and they were hard workers who still made time to dance and enjoy themselves. They celebrated 65 years of marriage on July 27, 2010. A.V. passed away Oct. 30, 2010. He was truly the Love of her life. Iva Lue Kaley Nelson is survived by her three children, her daughter, Verna Nelson Rivers, lives in San Jose, CA, her sons, Charlie and Ken, still live in Payette; they followed in their parents' footsteps and started C & K Nelson Trucking. Iva has six grandchildren, Michael, Elizabeth, Ariel, Wendy, Vanetta, and Tyler and nine great grandchildren. Iva was a good woman who will be missed by all who knew and loved her.Iva Lue Kaley Nelson, 89, of Payette, passed away July 12, 2013 at her home in Payette. A memorial service was held Aug. 10, 2013. Iva was interned at Park View Cemetery, New Plymouth.