Ronald Lynn "Ron" Nelson

Ronald “Ron” Lynn Nelson, 65, a farmer, hog producer and avid hunter, passed away at his home on January 29, 2019 after a ten-year battle with metastatic prostate cancer.
Ron was born in Sioux City, Iowa to Lynnette (Young) and Donald Nelson on November 28, 1953. He graduated from Wakonda High School in 1972 and attended South Dakota State University for two years prior to returning home to farm with his family. On March 1, 1975, he married Cyndi Bartlett, and they moved to their farm near Wakonda where they lived for 43 years until August of 2018 when they moved to Centerville. Ron and Cyndi were blessed with their son Heath, their daughter Lindsay, and their son Kurt Nelson who died in infancy.
Ron was a people person and served the public for many years serving on several boards both locally and nationally. He spent his career farming with his Dad, brother Mike, and son Heath. Ron was known across the United States and overseas for his high quality Duroc hogs and his pork can currently be found in restaurants across the country. He enjoyed going to hog shows and would often travel several hundred miles with Heath to show and sell his hogs. He loved hunting and in 2005, Ron and Mike started Spring Creek Hunting and hosted pheasant hunters from all across the country. Ron took great pride in working with his Labrador retrievers during the hunt and enjoyed conversing and getting to know all of the hunters who hunted Spring Creek with Ron and Mike. His favorite part of the hunt was watching his dogs work, and his favorite part of the day was watching the pheasants return to the fields at dusk. He was a Packers fan and enjoyed golfing with his friend, Dick Sherman. He loved to camp with his friends and to travel with Cyndi in their mustang along with the “Fast and Easy Car Club.” His treasured morning routine started with watching Morning Joe and a daily phone call from Lindsay. His greatest joy was spending time with his two wild men, Grady and Lincoln and his queen, Quinn Lynnette. Ron was tough, overcoming illness as a child, animal diseases and building fires on the farm, and fought cancer with everything he had until the day he passed. Ron will be greatly missed by his family, friends and all who knew him.
Ronald is survived by his wife Cyndi of Centerville; Mother, Lynette (Young) Nelson of Wakonda; his son Heath Nelson of Alcester, and daughter Lindsay (Brandon) Peterson of Centerville; three grandchildren, Grady, Lincoln and Quinn Peterson of Centerville; a brother Michael (Dixie) Nelson of Wakonda; mother-in-law JoAnn Bartlett of Yankton; brother-in-law Wayne (Teresa) Bartlett of Kaylor; sister-in-law Jan (Harley) VerMulm of Hudson; brother-in-law Roger (Vickie) Bartlett of Tyndall; sister-in-law Doris (Dave) Tompkins of Huron; and sister-in-law Patti (Andy) Diede of Scotland.
Ron was preceded in death by his father Donald Nelson, his father-in-law Dale Bartlett, and his infant son, Kurt.