Gloria Yvonne Nelson
KNOXVILLE - We give thanks to God and celebrate the life of Gloria Yvonne Nelson (née Spiering). She passed away peacefully on August 18, 2023. Gloria was born June 15, 1935 in Nassau, Minnesota, to Raymond and Hulda (Anderson) Spiering. As a child she grew up in Milbank, SD, where she graduated high school and went on to study Music and English at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD. Gloria moved to Minneapolis, MN, where she worked as a church secretary. We have the pastor to thank for his matchmaking abilities, as he told his friend Charles Nelson about Gloria, citing that, “she was a whiz at the piano,” and that the two should meet. As the saying goes, the rest is history. Gloria married the Reverend Charles Adolph Nelson on July 20, 1963, during a solar eclipse. As newlyweds, they moved to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, where Charles had accepted a call to serve as minister, and they welcomed their son, Eric.
Gloria and her family moved to Mobile, AL, where she welcomed her daughter, Andrea, and later moved to Maryville, TN, where Gloria received her Masters in Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She went on to teach English as a second language until her retirement, when she and Charles settled in Knoxville, TN.
After retiring, Gloria renewed her love of travel and took multiple trips exploring the world, including river cruises in Germany and France, visiting Machu Picchu with her son and the Caribbean with her daughter. Gloria loved classical music and opera. She was fluent at the piano, a gifted soprano, and an ardent supporter of the local symphony and opera programs. During the pandemic, the New York Metropolitan Opera streamed their complete collection of opera performances online...and Gloria watched all of them!
In Knoxville, Gloria was active in her church community at Messiah Lutheran Church, and took part in singing in the choir, arranging flowers, and bible study.
Gloria was a loving carer to her husband Charles, who passed away in 2009. She is survived by her children, Eric Nelson and Andrea Nelson, her daughter-in-law, Theresa (Hartley) Nelson, her niece Shari Casey, and nephews Larry and Terry Spiering.