Frank "Gabby" S. Nelson Jr., 77, died May 20, 2024, surrounded by his family. He was born Jan. 2, 1947, in Rockford, Illinois, to Frank and Greta Nelson. He was the middle brother between Nancy and Beth.
After high school, Frank joined the U.S. Air Force, where he earned the name "Gabby" for his quiet nature.
Always fascinated with rocks, after the Air Force, he enrolled at Northern Arizona University, where he studied geology. He could tell you the name of any rock or mineral you could ever come across. He was an engineer for the U.S. Forest Service in Arizona, but in his soul, he was a hard rock miner.
While at NAU, he married Becky Cooper. They had two children, Ron and Gillian. They divorced in 1979.
In the early 1980s, Gabby moved to the Pacific Northwest to study natural healing. He became a Licensed Massage Therapist in 1984 and moved to Olympia, Washington. After practicing massage therapy for many years, he became interested in the practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu, the ancient art of energy healing. He owned a Jin Shin Jyutsu practice until his retirement.
He was an avid outdoorsman, preferring to be outside in the garden, hiking to find cool rocks, cross country skiing, kayaking, or traveling. Many a winter vacation was spent along the Washington coast or playing in the snow.
He is survived by his children, Ron and Janie Nelson of The Dalles and Gillian Nelson of Dufur; ex-wife and longtime friend, Becky Nelson of The Dalles; grandchildren Caleb and Megan Nelson of The Dalles and Alex and Hannah Labenske of Dufur; younger sister and brother-in-law Beth and John Watson of Lacey, Washington, and several nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his life-long Air Force buddies, Mike (Star) de Leon and Bill George, his second ex-wife, Ilene, and many other friends. He is predeceased by his parents, older sister Nancy Malm and her husband Dave, and granddaughter Abby Grace Labenske.
A family celebration will take place at a later time.
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