Earnest Nelson

Earnest Lee Nelson was born May 2, 1940, in (Stacy) Turrell, Arkansas. He was the oldest of nine siblings, born to Jimmie Lee and Alberta Nelson.

Earnest attended school at Stacy and later went to William R. Golden School in Turrell, Arkansas. After leaving school he left Turrell and moved to Blytheville, Arkansas where he lived with his Aunt Rosie. To support himself he worked at a restaurant as a carhop. In addition to his job at the restaurant, he also went back and forth to Michigan to help with cherry picking. He was always a hard worker.

In 1961 Earnest moved to St Louis, Illinois, where he lived for a couple of months. His cousin, Sherman Walker and brother-in-Law, Elijah Gordon, who both grew up in Venice, IL moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and Earnest later joined them there.

Soon after moving to Omaha, Earnest met Ruthie Lee Morrow, who also grew up near Stacy Arkansas, living only a couple of miles from Earnest. They were married in Omaha April 9, 1962.

Earnest's first job in Omaha was working at a hotel. He later secured gainful employment at Armour-Dial Packing House. In 1968 the company transferred him to St Paul, Minnesota.

He and Ruthie lived there until 1972, when he was transferred to Fort Madison, Iowa. While working there, Earnest was elected President of the local Union, U.F.C.W.. In his position as president, he was able to travel extensively to many different places, which he enjoyed very much. After working 40 years at Armour-Dial, Earnest retired. After retiring, Earnest was diagnosed with cancer. Following the diagnosis, he and Ruthie to moved to Council Bluffs, IA, to be closer to family and better medical care. He found a good medical team, and thankfully beat the cancer.

While living in Council Bluffs, Earnest attended Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Earnest also enjoyed cooking. He baked great cakes and pies. He enjoyed cooking and excelled at most everything he made. In May 2003 the family opened a restaurant, where Earnest worked as one of the main chefs until the restaurant closed in 2007. Afterward, he worked for a time at Rick's Boathouse in downtown Omaha.

Earnest and Ruthie were married for 56 years. Sadly, she passed away November 18, 2018. Earnest was preceded in death not only by his wife, Ruthie, but also his parents Jimmie and Alberta Nelson and his sister Dorothy Gordon.

Earnest married Essie Mae Saunders on June 15, 2025. The family embraced her whole-heartedly. She became an integral part of the Nelson family.

Earnest leaves to mourn and cherish his memory, his wife Essie Mae Nelson; his son Dwayne Nelson (Sarah) of Surprise, AZ, and stepsons, John Walker of Jonesboro, AR and James Saunders of Omaha NE. He also leaves 4 brothers and 4 sisters. His brothers are Jimmie Nelson Jr. (Earline); Eddie Nelson (Jill) of Omaha; Erwin Nelson (Devonda) of Memphis, TN and Terrence Nelson (Maria) of Ft Worth, TX. His sisters are Alberta Nelson, Brenda Rogers (Larry); Linda Smith, all of Omaha, NE, and Claudia Green (Jeff) of Fresno, California. He also leaves many nephews, nieces, cousins and friends

Earnest was known by many throughout his life and will be greatly missed!

Visitation will be held from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM at Hoy Kilnoski Funeral Home on Saturday, August 15, 2026.

Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 AM at Hoy Kilnoski Funeral Home on Saturday, August 15, 2026. The family will direct memorials.