Barbara A. “Bobbie” Fulton Nelsen, 75, died Feb, 24, 2004, at Banner Gardens Hospice House in Mesa, Ariz., after a 14 year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). A celebration of her life was held at Desert Haven Church on March 4.

Barbara Ann Fulton was born March 19, 1928, in Monterey, Calif., to Chester Barkley “Bart” and Barbara Emelia (Rodgers) Fulton. She was raised in Hooper. While growing up in Hooper, she was a superior student, and did yeoman work at her parent’s small town grocery store. She graduated from Omaha North High School in 1945 and worked for several years at the Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, where she trained returning World War II veterans for jobs.

On Aug. 16, 1947, she married Blair native Don Nelsen in Omaha. While raising her four children in Omaha, she also worked at times for Boys Town Charities and the Food City supermarket.

In the early 1980’s the family moved to Hawaii, living first in Oahu and later on Maui, where Mrs. Nelsen was involved in many church and charitable activities. While in Hawaii, she worked as an employee and a volunteer with the American Cancer Society. Her family notes that “people there still recall her ability to lend such a personal and heartfelt touch to her fellow workers and, after her ironic diagnosis with CLL, to the people she then would call her fellow cancer patients.”

Mr. and Mrs. Nelsen moved to Arizona in 1995, where she was active in the community theater. Since 1995, she was a full-time resident of the “Fountain of the Sun,” and was well known to many of the FOS residents for her work as a performer in their theater productions.

She is survived by her husband, Don; sons, Don Jr. of Houston, Texas and Mark of Sidney; daughters, Cheri Crittenden of Crystal Lake, Ill., and Lori Kauai of Kahului, Hawaii; mother, Barbara Fulton of North Platte,; three sisters, Mary Zarkowski of North Platte and Peggy Buras and Emelia Fulton of Omaha; eight grandchildren; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Barty Fulton.

Memorials are suggested to the Desert Haven Church, Banner Hospice House, or the American Cancer Society.