Gearl Nelson passed away peacefully at his home in Ada, Oklahoma on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Graveside services are 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at Rosedale Cemetery.  He had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2006 and valiantly battled the disease for 16 years. He was a strong man who refused to allow the disease to keep him from living a fruitful life.

Gearl was born January 4, 1938 in Fittstown, Oklahoma to Maggie Ellen Sanders and William Emory Nelson.  His father died when he was an infant, and he was the youngest of 9 siblings. He graduated from Byng High School and married Margaret Jo Lockhart from Ada. Gearl served in the Air Force from 1955 to 1959.

The family moved to Clear Alaska in 1965 where Gearl continued to serve his country as a civilian radar technician at Clear Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station. He was an avid hunter and fisherman who loved the great Alaskan outdoors where he could pursue his passion for photography.  Upon retirement, he and Margaret spent a few years wandering the U.S. and Canada in their motorhome before settling back in Ada.

Gearl is survived by four children: William, Timothy, Michael, and LaVonia; as well as 6 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandchild. He is preceded in death by his wife Margaret and two sons, Anthony, and Ronald Keith.