Mr. Ralph Dean Nelms passed away from natural causes on Thursday morning Jan. 7, 2010, at the Sterling Living Center in Sterling, at the age of 87. Services will be held for Mr. Ralph Dean Nelms at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, at Chaney-Reager Funeral Home in Sterling, followed by interment next to his beloved wife at Riverside Cemetery.

Mr. Nelms spent the majority of his life at his home on North Second Avenue in Sterling with his beloved wife Leona Lucille Nelms, who passed way Jan. 7, 2006.

Mr. Nelms was born on Feb. 24, 1922, in Ainsworth, Neb., to Mr. Jeremiah Nelms and Ms. Emma Stine Nelms as the seventh child in the family. Mr. Nelms was the third son of a family of three boys and nine sisters when the family moved due to drought from Ainsworth to Fort Morgan in the late 1930s. Mr. Nelms was the last surviving member of the original Nelms family of 12 children.

Mr. Nelms attended Fort Morgan High School and met his future wife, Leona Lucille Zima, at Clarence's popcorn stand in Sterling in 1941 after a football game. After graduation from Fort Morgan High School, Mr. Nelms worked in the CCC camps in northern Colorado and as an auto mechanic at Bills Motor in Sterling before marrying his wife on Oct. 19, 1942, in Sidney, Neb.
Mr. Nelms entered the Army on Nov. 5, 1942, as a member of the 7th Cavalry with special training in combat using horses in El Paso, Texas, before being shipped to the Pacific Theater in World War II from San Francisco to Northern Australia. Mr. Nelms fought in World War II through New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago Islands and the Philippine Islands in Luzon. Mr. Nelms was stationed in various cities in Japan after the Japanese surrender in 1945, including Hiroshima, where he witnesses the devastation of the first atomic bomb on the city.
Mr. Nelms was discharged from the Army on Nov. 26, 1945, and returned to Sterling to work as an automobile and diesel mechanic. Mr. Nelms reached the rank of Sergeant in the Army receiving the Asian Pacific Service Medal, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with a bronze stars, and the World War II Victory Metal. Mr. Nelms was wounded in both his knee and back during combat in his three years of military service.

Mr. Nelms is survived by his daughter, Ms. Kathy Lynn Nelms of Sterling; and his son, Mr. Ralph Lee Nelms and wife Elizabeth Cain Nelms of Golden. Mr. Nelms is also survived by two grandsons and one granddaughter, Mr. Ralph Theron Nelms of Golden, Mr. Kristopher Lazzaretti of New York City and Ms. Rachel Carolyn Nelms Davis and husband Mr. Jeff Davis of Lakewood. Mr. Nelms is also survived by many nieces, nephews and many other family members in Sterling, Fort Morgan and Denver.
The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the excellent staff and nurses at the Sterling Living Center for their kind care and support during the last months of Mr. Nelms's life. In addition, the family wishes to thank several excellent care takers who assisted Ralph at his home for many years including Ms. Teresa Swopes of Sterling, Mr. Deann Shoemaker of Fort Morgan and Ms. Arabella Gutierrez of Holyoke.