Leona Lindsey Nelson, 98, formerly of Mount Vernon, Wash., passed away on April 17, 2011 at Bishop Place in Pullman, Wash.

She was born on August 2, 1912, in Pullman, Wash.  Leona was the youngest and last surviving child of the nine children born to James Emerson and Leona Brenneman Lindsey.  Their home place on Colorado Street, where she was born and raised, was purchased by Washington State College, later known as Washington State University.

Being a loyal Cougar fan, she always said, “I was born and grew up on the campus of WSU.”  Leona graduated from Pullman High School in 1931 and attended Washington State College until her marriage.  She later completed her degree at WSU in 1956.

Leona had several careers, teaching at a business college in Centralia, Wash., teaching business subjects at Lopez Island High School, business office manager at Skagit Valley Coop, and as a social worker in Skagit County.

Leona enjoyed traveling, acting in community theater, knitting, needlepoint and latch-hooking.

Leona and Hid drove all over the United States.  They also traveled to Europe, toured the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, the Holy Land, North Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Leona married Hilding Clifford Nelson on November 3, 1934 in Asotin, Wash.  Hilding (Hid or Lefty) was a vocational agriculture teacher and they lived in Dayton, Prescott, Centralia, and Mount Vernon, Wash, where he taught.

They also lived on Lopez Island during the war years where he farmed the family farm.  Hid preceded her in death in 1987.

Leona continued living in Mount Vernon until 2007 when she moved to Bishop Place in Pullman.

They had one son, Clifford Leon Nelson, who also preceded her in death in 2000.  She is survived by her granddaughter, Christina Leigh Nelson and her husband, Eric Fife, great-grandchildren, Brooke Ashleigh, Savannah Joyce and Mitchell Nelson Fife of Harrisonburg, Va., and daughter-in-law, Bonnie Conrad Nelson of Pullman.

Leona is also survived by several nieces and nephews.  A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, July 9, 2011 at Grand View Cemetery in Anacortes, followed by a reception at 3 p.m. at Evans Funeral Chapel, 1105-32nd Street in Anacortes, Wash.

Memorials may be made to a charity of your choice or to the Catherine Washburn Memorial Association, PO Box 309, Lopez Island, Wash., 98261 to benefit the Lopez Island Clinic.  Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory, Inc., Anacortes, Wash and the San Juan Islands.

To share memories of Leona, please sign the online guest register at www.evanschapel.com.