Resident Stories: Dean and Bev Nelson
February 6, 2017
Dean and Bev Nelson, high school sweethearts celebrating their 63rd wedding anniversary this year, grew up in a very small Danish community in South Dakota, with a population of 500. They are blessed with three children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.
It’s been just over two years since they’ve moved to Redmond, and they could not be happier with the decision! Two of their children live in eastern Washington, so they knew a place fairly close to Seattle would be perfect. After looking at a number of communities, Emerald Heights was the standout choice for them. Dean explains, “It was by far the most up-to-date, and having the most to offer. What really drew me to the city of Redmond was the close-knit neighborhood feel. It’s also just close enough to Seattle, but you don’t feel like you’re in a big metropolitan city.” Both Dean and Bev say that there isn’t just one aspect of Emerald Heights that they love the most, as there are just so many wonderful attributes of the community.
Dean and Bev are both involved in quite a few activities at Emerald Heights. They both attend life writing and exercise groups. Dean also attends the men’s breakfasts and works on The Nature Trail. Bev is involved with the Garden Railroad, a design of villages made to replicate those of the 1800s, with a train that runs throughout the village. She works in the garden and helps paint the buildings, cars and people when they need refurbishing.
While they are both very creative, their artwork displayed in the Art Gallery Display at Emerald Heights is their most accomplished piece of work for the community, as they are both professional artists. Bev’s passion for art began in junior high, whereas Dean started creating artwork after retirement. He originally started with crafting sculptures, and then moved to oil paintings. While Bev is a painter, her styles of painting change quite often. “You will change styles over the course of your career,” she explains. “It’s good to keep at least one painting of each style to see how your artwork has progressed.”
Bev has retired from painting as a career, but continues to do so for fun in her spare time. “I love painting, but there’s too many fun things going on around the community that I don’t have time to have a regular painting schedule,” she explains. Bev generously allowed Bill and Carol Furrer, the Emerald Heights couple in charge of the Art Gallery Display, to include her paintings of beautiful landscapes, textures, and Native American images. The residents have really enjoyed seeing all of Dean and Bev’s creativity displayed throughout the gallery, and so have we. Thank you Dean and Bev!
