Elizabeth D. (Berg) Nelson

Elizabeth (“Beth”) Dawn Nelson, 61, died February 19, 2024, surrounded by her daughters, in Athens, Georgia. Born March 29, 1962, in Hastings, Minnesota to Donald and Donna Lou Berg and raised in the surrounding country towns. Beth was a nonconformist from the start, she had a dry wit, a loud laugh, and an incredible strength. Those who knew her loved her, and those who didn’t, should’ve raised their standards. Beth lived for her five daughters, and her ten grandchildren too. She loved Jesus and was a diligent student of the Bible. She was a listener, incredibly intuitive, and thought about everything to great depths. Beth insisted on loud and frequent kitchen dance parties and was an intensely fierce competitor in all card games, particularly cribbage. She appreciated the beauty of creation and was an avid horticulturalist, ultimately growing a business as a single mom and making a career out of a keen interest in landscape design, plant selection, and gardening. Beth genuinely cared about people, which is to note that she received with an open heart and made space for every person who crossed her path, even the weird, scraggly people – especially the weird, scraggly ones. This took the form of tutoring, employing, feeding, and/or mothering a vast extended family of immigrants, general vagabonds, recovering addicts, neighborhood punks, students, and coworkers, in addition to her own brood, and they all admired her!

During the last four years, Beth battled stage four lung cancer and many of its conceivable complications. Though she was originally given three-to-six months and the pain associated with her condition brought her to places of incredible darkness, she had a relentless will to live. She also had a relentless hope in a faithful God who promised to keep her from harm and watch over her coming and going now and forever (Psalm 121). During those four years, Beth did live! She crushed cancer, learned how to let others love and care for her, and took great joy in watching her children realize long-awaited dreams, find love, and have babes of their own.

In addition to her parents, Beth is survived by her daughters, Danielle Martin, Jillian Nelson (Benjamin Stein), Alexandra Edwards (Nathan); siblings, Rebecca Allen, Scott Berg, and Peter Berg, Faith Nelson, and Katelin Kirksey (John Cole); and nine grandchildren, James, Sophia, Annabella, Samuel, little bub, Charlie, Johanna, Ila, and Madeline May.

She is predeceased by her sister, Virginia Berg and her granddaughter and namesake, Lizzy Tay.

Beth will be memorialized on March 31, 2024 at a private gathering of family members in Tybee Island, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Beth’s name to Hosanna Church, a church Beth attended and where she found much encouragement. Donations may be made via their website, https://hosannalc.org/ .

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