NELSON, Eric Hemming Nelson

Passed away peacefully in the early hours of February 10, 2026, at Kelowna General Hospital, himself almost to the end.

Dad was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, on August 13, 1939, to Dagmar (Pat) Charlotte Nelson (née Arneson) and Walter Hemming Nelson. Dad’s sister, Sonja, was three years older. He grew up “half-wild”, as he’d say, exploring the land and waterways around P.A. with his friends on foot, bike, ski, car, motorcycle, truck, and/or airplane, and continuing these exploits throughout his life as a travel writer and adventure-seeker. He traveled around the world with his friend Arnie Riechle shortly after high school, and to many other places globally through his work as a freelance photojournalist.

Dad married our mother, Harriett Collins of Saskatoon, in 1968, and after some travel to Mexico and a short stint in Kelowna, they settled in Saskatoon, where Rana was born in 1970 and Ari in 1975. Dad had bought 40 acres of waterfront property with his father at Wakaw Lake, Saskatchewan, and we remember glorious summers there as children, running half-wild ourselves between our “shack” and our maternal grandparents’ house, Geneva Mission, a former hospital, the land of which stretched farther down the lake to “The Point.”

Dad and our mom divorced in 1981, but he moved down the street, so we saw him frequently. Dad became a committed Christian around that time, strong in his faith for the rest of his life. Dad taught us to hunt, fish, shoot a bow, and build a fire. We have great memories of hunting grouse with him in prairie fields, fishing on the lake, and spontaneous ski trips where there wouldn’t be a room available in the hotel until Dad pulled out his card and said he was writing a story – and then we’d get the honeymoon suite. Eventually, he moved back to Prince Albert, then to Vancouver Island, and finally to Kelowna in about 2012.

Dad was a storyteller with big plans. He was always working to get one of his 15 books commercially published, and self-published three of them, working with Rana on “Rent-a-Dad Christmas,” a collection of the Christmas stories he wrote every year when we were kids. “Tell us a story!” we often asked him at bedtime, and he would. Dad loved talking to and meeting people and dogs, and many of his friends are those he made on his daily walks along the Kelowna lakeshore, where he always had dog treats in his pocket. A hopeful romantic, Dad was always sure he’d get married again, but despite his best efforts, that did not come to pass. Dad also loved art, music, books, and handcrafted items, and his bright apartment was filled with them, many from his childhood home. He also loved us and made sure we always knew it.

We, Rana and Ari, are remembering our Dad along with Rana’s husband Kurt Grabinsky, Dad’s grandchildren Rebecca, Rachel, and Zachary; Dad’s nephews Joel and David Barton, niece Joanna Leach, and their children; the Danish cousins; and his friends and family in western Canada – which he always said was the greatest place in the world – and beyond.

Special thanks to Mike and Karen Quigley and Nikki Norrie for all their help this past year, and to Charlotte and Peter of Springfield Funeral Home for their compassion and care for our dad. Interment will be at a later date in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, February 14, 2026, at 2:00 pm, in the Family Centre at Springfield Funeral Home, 2020 Springfield Road, Kelowna, BC. All are welcome; please bring stories, memories, and photos to share.