Pearl Hunt Nelson, 84, of Iola died Monday, Nov. 29, 2010, in Palm Springs, Calif.
She was born Sept. 9, 1926, in Walnut Township in Bourbon County, to Bert Walter and Flossie Ellen (Warren) Draper. She grew up in the Mildred area where she graduated from high school.
On Jan. 29, 1946, she married Earl J. Hunt in Iola where they made their home. They had three sons before he died on Aug. 4, 1969.
She worked as a teacher, homemaker, in the cafeteria at Allen County Hospital, for the Southeast Kansas Library System and as a realtor.
On March 3, 1979, she married Oren M. Nelson. They made their home on a farm in Savonburg and later moved to Iola. They have lived with their son, Don Hunt, and his partner, Charles Reilly, in California the past three years.
She had been active for more than 25 years in Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. She enjoyed traveling with her husband to several different countries and recently toured the Grand Canyon. She enjoyed dancing and spending time with her grandchildren.
She is survived by her husband of the home; three sons, Bob Hunt and his wife, Nita (Thompson), Marysville, Ohio, Don Hunt and his partner, Charles Reilly, Toluca Lake, Calif., and Ken Hunt and his wife, Carla (Stanley), Iola; three stepchildren, Melvin Nelson and his wife, Phyllis, Moran, Ron Nelson and his wife, Eileen, Baldwin City, and Eileen James and her husband, Jim, Garnett; a brother, Lloyd W. “Bill” Draper and his wife, Mary Lou, Moran; a sister, Ina Lawry, West Des Moines, Iowa; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
A brother-in-law, George Lawry, died earlier.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel in Iola.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. The Rev. Wanda Lawry Hughes will officiate. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery in Iola.
Memorials to Iola Alzheimer’s Support Group or Allen County Hospital Capital Campaign may be left at or sent to the funeral home, 16 N. Buckeye St., Iola, KS 66749. Online condolences for the family may be left at iolafuneral.com.
Pearl Nelson
