Rose Mary D. Nelson

1938 - 2023

Rose Mary DeLuna Nelson of Highland, Utah passed away on July 29, 2023.

Rose Mary was born September 20, 1938 in Dallas, Texas to Hipolito DeLuna and Maria Brigida Paredes DeLuna. She was the eleventh and youngest child in her family. She had five brothers and five sisters. She grew up in a happy home and loved her family very much. Her uncle had a mariachi band and while in high school Rose Mary sang and danced with them. After high School she worked at Zales Jewelry in downtown Dallas and become their credit manager.

Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on the DeLuna door and in 1960 Rose Mary became a member of the Church. Two years later she was called to serve as a missionary in the Spanish American Mission. After her mission some of the sisters she knew on her mission asked her to come to Provo and spend some time with them. While she was in Provo she found a job at the BYU Alumni House an stayed in Provo for the next 50 years. She also began dating another returned missionary from the Spanish American Mission and on September 1, 1964 Rose Mary and Fred W. Nelson were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

They have five children: Regina (David) Howard, Mark (Lisa) Nelson, Richard Nelson, Kristina (Boyd) Martin, and Maria (Kevin) Broom. They have 18 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.

Rose Mary has always been very active in the Church and has served in different capacities throughout her life. She has served as the president of the Relief Society and Primary in two different wards and as a Stake Relief Society President. Also she and Fred have served two missions together. They served in the Ecuador Quito Mission and later as humanitarian missionaries in Lima, Peru. Rose Mary has also served as an ordinance worker in the Provo Utah Temple.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her five brothers and four of her sisters. She is survived by her husband, her children and one sister, Gloria DeLuna of Dallas, Texas.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, August 2, at the church located at 11300 North Highland Boulevard in Highland, Utah. The services will begin at 11:00 a.m. There will be a viewing at the chapel that morning beginning at 9:30 a.m. Burial will be at East Lawn Cemetery in Provo,

We are grateful for the care given to Rose Mary by the personnel from Yarrow Hospice and Palliative Care: especially Natalie and Stacy. They have been very kind and professional.