2 weeks Ago
September 16, 1956 — March 3, 2025 BILLINGS, Mont. — It is with sadness, and far too soon, that we say goodbye to our son and brother Greg Eugene Nelson. He left this world unexpectedly at Inter Mountain Health, Billings, Mont.
, on March 3, 2025. Greg started his life with six siblings in Cheyenne, Wyo., in September 16, 1956.
The family moved to Powell, Wyo., and tried their farming skills. There we learned several kids had allergies and hay fever which afflicted Greg the worst.
Next stop moved 30 minutes, and the family settled in Cody and bought a motel. A perfect scenario for a family of nine. It was not long we all realized Greg was not one to “fit in a box” — to live a traditional life — and was always looking for an “out” that would allow him to be the Free Spirit that he was.
He was not a fan of traditional and formal education and once he was out of school, he could not wait to choose his own way and was “off to see the world.” July 5, 1977, he drove to California, following his father’s footsteps to sign up for the U.S.
Air Force. His adventure began at El Toro Base. He was deployed to the Philippines and was excited to see South Korea on his times of leave while on that side of the world.
While on duty in the Philippines, Greg met a young woman named Nenita. They created a friendship and a bond and spent a lot of time together and remained friends once he was out of the Air Force and back to the States in 1981. Both staying in contact with one another by phone and letters.
Continuing on the adventurous life Greg embarked on, he went to the great state of Alaska and found himself on a lobster fishing boat. The scary stories he came home with sent shivers down your spine. What a dangerous and arduous job for all you lobster lovers out there.
Heading back to his roots in Cody, Greg went to Massage Therapy Training and started “Frayed Knot” with numerous side jobs to keep him in the “no routine lifestyle,” including Ponderosa Campground, and being a server at his favorite places, Mammoth Yellowstone and the famous Cassie’s. His customers were his friends, and they loved him and he was very good to everyone he served. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts Once again, wanting to serve his country, Greg enlisted in the U.
S. Marine Corps, July 1987 and served to August 1991. It is on this deployment to the Philippines he reconnected with Nenita Templo and both realized they were more than friends and were married in May 8, 1998.
Love for his country and wanting to serve in a time of war, he enlisted in the U.S. Army.
He was deployed to Afghanistan and released 2010 to finished out his service in the Wyoming National Guard until 2020. Greg will be remembered for “not knowing a stranger.” He did not need to know you to strike up a conversation, no matter where he was.
His rugged individualism was apparent to all who knew and loved him. One could enter a crowded room and KNOW that Greg was there, his infectious LAUGHTER was his “signature trait.” His SUPER thriftiness, not wanting to waste any resource and remaking of almost anything one would buy, was known by many.
Commenting “he should be an inventor,” he could and would make anything better with his creative and inventive mind. One would always know when he had arrived as his beloved VW Rabbit truck had such a distinctive sound. One may not see him for a few days, but God instilled in him a “SUPER SENSE.
” He would fly in by the seat of his pants “just in time.” We commented regularly on that “God given Sense” — HE WILL BE SOOOOOOO MISSED! Although apart these last years of his life from his beloved Nenita, a last text from him Feb 22, 2025. read “Pleasant dreams.
.. Mahal ki ya my love.
..My Wish come True with You.
..my Love.
..truly yours.
..” He was preceded in death by his father, Gerald “GW” Nelson.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Nenita Templo Nelson; mother, Verna Nelson Hamilton and husband, John; six siblings, Bernadette, Mark, Audrene, Otis, Roxann and Doug; and many nieces and nephews. Please join us for Greg’s services. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.
m. on Friday, March 14, at Cody Bible Church, 2137 Cougar Ave, Cody, Wyo. Services to follow and internment at Riverside Cemetery with Veteran Honors.
Fellowship and luncheon served at Cody Bible Church afterward. Memories and condolences can be shared on Greg’s memory page at www.BallardFH.
com.
