Obituary of Rhonda Sue Nelson

Rhonda Sue Nelson (nee Horan), 72, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on December 22, 2018 in Hackensack following a prolonged illness.  She was born in Hackensack to Tom and Peggy Horan of Hasbrouck Heights in 1946, the third of four children.  She was raised in Hasbrouck Heights, where she graduated high school in 1963.  After working for a few years at the Hackensack court reporter’s offices and for a publishing house, she struck out on her own and moved west. Rhonda married Bert Nelson in Colorado in 1970, and lived there as well as in Texas, Kansas, Wyoming and Kentucky before returning to her NJ roots in 1977, following the end of her marriage. 

She lived in Lodi, NJ, for approximately 25 years, where she raised her three beloved children. Raised in a Presbyterian church, she found Jesus Christ as her savior when she attended Bible Baptist Church in Hasbrouck Heights as an adult. There she was baptized, along with her elder son, in 1988.  For work, Rhonda volunteered in the lab at South Bergen Hospital, then was employed for the Medical Records department of the erstwhile Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Saddle Brook. Her main career – and where she formed lasting friendships - was working nightshift in the Medical Records department of Hackensack University Medical Center.  She moved to Hackensack in 2002, retired from the hospital in 2011 and remained in Hackensack the rest of her days.  

Rhonda enjoyed music, especially doo-wop, Big Band and country, as well as the pop music of her generation.  She was an avid and prolific reader, enjoyed crossword and jigsaw puzzles, movies of all types, particularly westerns, and had a great love of all animals, especially horses, dogs and cats. She also delighted in writing “fan fiction” (before it had a name) for the TV shows Bonanza and X-files. Most of all, she was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and happily made it to several games with her equally enthusiastic son. She especially loved all her babies, i.e. her four grandchildren. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, and is survived by her children and their spouses: daughter Tootie Marie Nelson and her husband Daniel Kinkaid, of Bloomfield, NJ; son Travis Mitchell Nelson, his wife Sunny, and their children, Petros and Matiyos, of West Norriton, PA; and son Trent Michael Nelson, his wife Stacey and their children Oliver and Cameron, of Buckingham, PA.  She is also survived by her siblings, Sandra Healey and husband James of Woodcliff Lake, NJ; Douglas Horan and wife Linda of Lexington, VA; and Lindy Ott of Lexington, VA.   

Please join us on Saturday January 5, 2019 to celebrate Rhonda's life at, Fitzgeralds 1928, from 2 -5 pm, 13 Herman St., Glen Ridge, NJ. A eulogy and hymns will begin promptly at 2:15pm; refreshments at 2:30.