Judith Kay Nelson
Judith Kay Nelson of Brookfield, devoted wife, mother of three and career registered nurse, died peacefully Oct. 22 in her sleep. She was 83. She had been in fragile health following a stroke in 2016, which led to the use of a wheelchair.
Judy was a 1976 graduate of the Milwaukee Area Technical College School of Nursing (MATC) and later took temporary-help nursing assignments at such businesses as Miller Brewing, General Electric Medical Systems, several Milwaukee area foundries, and Mount Sinai Hospital. In all, her nursing career spanned 25-years, much of the time working as an occupational-health nurse.
She was born in Lomira, the daughter of Kenneth and Jo Rhein, operators of a Holstein dairy farm. After graduation from Lomira High School, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she met her husband to-be Bill Nelson. They were surprised to learn they shared the same July 13th birthday and they were married in 1958.
As a young mother, Judy focused her energies on family -- Bill, her journalist husband, and three children, Chris, Brenda and Brian.
The Nelson family lived in Janesville, WI, Freeport, IL, and Cedar Rapids, IA., before buying a home in Elm Grove, WI. Almost two decades later, Bill and Judy moved a few miles away, to neighboring Brookfield.
Judy served as a Cub Scout den mother, and assisted in the leadership of Brownie and Girl Scout troops. She also was a member of Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church and headed its Personal-Care Committee for a term.
Survivors are husband Bill; daughter Brenda Davis of Brookfield; sons Christopher of Augusta, WI, and Brian of Brookfield; 10 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Also, a sister, Beth Johnson, Madison, and two brothers, Chuck Rhein, Lomira, and David Rhein, Portland, OR.
Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 30) at Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church, 2366 N. 80th St. The Rev. Brett Swanson will preside. [Church phone number 414-774-5005] Visitation will precede the service starting at 1:00 PM. She will be laid to rest in the family plot at Ebenezer Cemetery, Lomira.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Judith Kay (Rhein) Nelson, please visit our floral store.