Judith Ann Backus Nelson was born on 30 July 1940 in Orem, Utah to James and Lula May Backus. She was the 9th of ten children: Afton, Dee, Betty, Ron, LaMar, Rex, Bonnie, Karen, and Bob. She moved to Mesa, Arizona when she was 10 years old, and graduated from Mesa High School.
Judy married Richard “Duane” Nelson on 3 June 1960, in the Mesa Arizona Temple. They were married for 55 years before Duane’s passing on 9 November 2015. They had 6 children: Laura (Richard) Standage, Richard, Lisa (Keith) Wyman, Carol (Kurt) Huntington, James and David. Judy had 13 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren, with one more on the way. She loved family, be it her parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, children or grandchildren, the greats too. She would do anything to spend time with them.
Judy made life fun for everyone. She had a gift for storytelling and spent hours in her backyard creating magical gardens for every holiday imaginable to share with grandchildren and anyone who wanted to visit.
Judy was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in many positions in the church but loved her time in the primary working with the children. She had a way of teaching little ones that made them excited and wanting more. Besides family and church, you could find Judy searching out family records. She was an avid genealogist, constantly on the hunt for sources to prove family connections.
Judy passing marks the conclusion of a life of service, hard work and love. She will forever be remembered and cherished.
Judy will be interred in the Mesa Cemetery with her husband Duane. Graveside services will be held sometime in March.
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