December 9, 1942 – September 20, 2020
Vangene Stephens “Steve” Nelson, 77, of Bainbridge, GA, passed away Sunday, September 20, 2020.
A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com. Memorial donations may be made to Bainbridge-Decatur County Humane Society, 1250 Cox Avenue, Bainbridge, GA 39819 or Big Bend Hospice, Inc., 1723 Mahan Center Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32308.
Vangene Stephens Nelson was born December 9, 1942 in Anniston, AL, the son of Vangene Stephens Nelson and Frances Holliday Nelson. Upon high school graduation, Steve enlisted in the United States Air Force. Later he worked with his parents at the family owned Coca~Cola bottling plant, as well as a few years with Sewell Plastics and Miller Hydro.
Steve was a man of few words. When he spoke, hold on; thoughts would be rattled off and ideas spun like thread in a new sewing machine. He loved horses, participating in horse shows and the beauty of the outdoors. The Gulf of Mexico was a place of peace and solitude for Steve. Fishing out of St. Marks never got old. Steve would say, “Popping corks at St. Marks was better than a blue ribbon at a horse show.”
His wife of 46 years, Julia Cooke, survives. Steve was preceded in death by his parents.
