Paul Anthony "Tony" Nelson

Paul Anthony “Tony” Nelson, age 53, of Mankato, died peacefully on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato with his wife Kelly by his side.

Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 17, 2019 at Northview – North Mankato Mortuary, 2060 Commerce Drive, North Mankato. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service.

Tony was born November 9, 1965 in La Grange, Illinois, son of Gerald and Janet (Millis) Nelson. In 1975, the Nelson family moved to North Mankato from Park Forest, Illinois. Tony graduated from Mankato West High School in 1983.

Tony earned his masters of art degree in Mathematics from Mankato State University in 1995. Tony was united in marriage to Kelly Jo Peterson on June 25, 1988.

Tony taught math at both Minnesota State University at Mankato and the University of Colorado Boulder.

He enjoyed biking with friends, spending time with family and friends, playing chess, listening to the Minnesota Twins baseball games on the radio, watching Jeopardy, gardening, fishing, cooking, listening to music, solving math problems, bowling, and traveling with his wife, Kelly. They traveled to Las Vegas, Baltimore, Atlanta, Colorado, Phoenix, Santa Fe, San Antonio, Denmark and Sweden. Tony and Kelly’s favorite place to travel to was along the North Shore of Lake Superior to go hiking in Minnesota State Parks and watching the full moon rise over Lake Superior. Many vacations were spent enjoying the natural beauty along Lake Superior.

Tony is survived by his wife, Kelly of Mankato; mother, Janet “Jan” Nelson of North Mankato; sisters, Lisa (Jeff) Erickson of Germantown, WI and Cindy (Luke) Langer of Menomonee Falls, WI; brother, Don (Claudia) Nelson of Houston, TX; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends. He is also survived by his two cats, Missy and Ginger.

He was preceded in death by his father, Gerald “Jerry” Nelson; grandparents, Paul and Margaret Nelson and Mayo and Elda Millis.

Tony will be remembered for his sense of humor and wit, as a problem solver and thinker. He loved to make people laugh.