Steven Nelson

Steven Eugene Nelson was born in Boise, Idaho, on Aug. 18, 1966, and passed away on April 29, 2016. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, 2016, in the Barnwell Room at the Boise State Student Union Building.

Arrangements are under the direction of Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel, in Mountain Home.

He was the youngest of five children born to Edgar and Mary Nelson. Steven spent most of his childhood in Caldwell, Idaho, but moved with his family to Fairbanks, Alaska, and graduated from West Valley High School in 1985.

Steven returned to Idaho and lived in Mountain Home. He worked in a variety of jobs, including serving as a manager at Sterner & Kline, a telemarketing firm in Boise.

Steven pursued a love for arts, including acting and production of plays with the Little Theater in Fairbanks, the College of Southern Idaho's New Theatre in Twin Falls, and the Knock 'Em Dead theater group in Boise. As hobbies, he also demonstrated considerable skill in oil painting and photography.

In his late 30s, Steven decided to continue his education and left Mountain Home to attend the College of Southern Idaho in 2005. He encouraged other friends in the area to do the same.

After two years in Twin Falls studying and working in journalism, he transferred to the University of Idaho, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in public relations in 2011.

After graduation from college, Steven worked for the University of Idaho as the Annual Giving Coordinator for the University's Vandal Connect fundraising program. In early 2016, Steven moved his prodigious fundraising talents to U of I's in-state rival, Boise State University, where he oversaw fundraising operations conducted by BSU students.

Steven is survived by his parents, three brothers and one sister (Dennis Nelson, Connie Nelson-Cleverley, Donald Nelson and Eric Nelson).

Throughout his life, Steven reached out to and provided support to numerous friends and acquaintances who were down on their luck or ostracized by society, including those who were ostracized due to their sexual orientation. It is his family's sincere hope that the era of misguided bigotry against them will finally end, so that all sons and daughters, brothers and sisters can live and love peacefully in the full light of day.