Mrs. Valerie Claire Nelson

Valerie was born in Regina on Valentine’s Day in 1946 and grew up in Winnipeg with her parents and older sister Margot. She got a Bachelor of Arts in 1967, spent 1968 travelling in Europe, and then got a Masters degree in economics at the University of Manitoba.

She married Allan Collier in 1970 and moved to Ottawa to work for the federal government - first for the Dept of Finance and then for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). She worked on economic development projects in India, Burma and Indonesia in her mid 20s and early 30s. The CIDA job accelerated her interest in community economic development, and in the study of different cultures and mythologies.

Valerie had grown to love BC from a young age during trips out to visit relatives. She left CIDA in 1980 to take an economic development job at a Vancouver consulting company.

She married Doug Nelson in 1981 and they had three children Gordon (died 1982), Juliann and Kristin. She was a full time mom during the 1990’s and was very active in the community – starting book groups, women’s support groups, and singing in choirs. In the late 1990’s Valerie began to focus much more on her spiritual life. She enrolled at the Vancouver School of Theology and received her Masters in Theology degree in 2005. She worked as a spiritual counsellor and was a committed volunteer at the Listening Post and was a member of the Rivendell Retreat community on Bowen Island.

Valerie had many good friends. One reason for this was that she had broad interests and intelligence in many areas of life. You could have wonderful wide-ranging conversations with her; she always had so many interesting insights to share.

Doug, Juliann and Kristin are so grateful for the overwhelming amount of love and support we received from family and friends during the last 4 months.

A celebration of Valerie’s life will be held on October 5, 11 am at St Monica’s church in Horseshoe Bay. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Rivendell Retreat Centre on Bowen Island.