Michael Ann Nelson recently lost her battle with cancer and is now on a different path. Family and friends are sad to see her go.

Michael Ann was born in El Centro, California on January 23, 1943 to C. Ben and Adella Herring. When she was about the age of two, the Herring family moved to Longview, Washington, where Michael Ann continued her childhood. She made many friends in the old neighborhood and kept in touch throughout her life with “the girls.”

A younger brother, Ben, was added to the family and Michael Ann often recounted stories of the family outings spent on a Chris Craft cruiser kept on the Columbia River. Time was also spent at Spirit Lake below Mount St. Helens or at the farm of some friends south of Portland, Oregon.

Later in life, Michael Ann was blessed to have two boys. The oldest son was named Dick and the younger was Allan. She continued to live in the Longview area and formed many more lasting relationships.

While working in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, she met and started dating Tim Nelson. He was transferred to Richland by his work and she gave up that beautiful area to come to the “Dri-Cities” and become his bride. They married on May 7th, 1988 and lived in Richland before buying a home in Kennewick which Michael Ann got to fill with her paintings or craft projects.

Michael Ann worked for Lamb Weston, first at the Research and Development Building and later at the main office as a software trainer. Here she built her family of Lamb Weston friends, traveling to plants throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Minnesota, North Carolina and Canada. She retired from Lamb Weston in June 2005.

As the years passed, Michael Ann delighted in watching her family grow. Both sons married and Dick gave Michael Ann two grandsons, Reggie and Glenn. Some of her fondest times were spent with both boys, picking them up in Longview and taking them for weekends to the coast or to visit friends.

Allan’s family lived in Las Vegas but Michael Ann made sure to get down there and see grandson Gabe and granddaughters Nani and Christine as often as she could.

Last spring, Reggie made Michael Ann a great-grandma with the birth of his daughter McKenna. She always had a special smile when she saw this little one.

Recently niece Sarah living in New York City gave birth to Christina. Michael Ann only got to see pictures of her as treatments kept her close to home.

Michael Ann loved all her family, which included her childhood friends, her Lamb Weston family and those she met along the way. She had a gift in that she made everyone feel special, her spirit went out to all as she enjoyed their company and learned who they were inside. Many of us knew her for many years and some only briefly, but we all saw this spirit and will miss her greatly.

She is preceded in death by Michael Ann’s parents C. Ben and Adella Herring, and by her son Allan Handley.

Michael Ann is survived by her husband Tim Nelson and Tim’s parents Marvin and Marge Nelson; Tim’s sister Linda Dunford and her husband Gary as well as their sons Andrew, Eric and Michael; Michael Ann’s brother Ben Herring and his wife Sharen, as well as their daughter Sarah and granddaughter Christina; Michael Ann’s son Dick Handley as well as his sons Reggie and Glenn and Reggie’s daughter McKenna; Michael Ann’s daughter-in-law Rachel Handley Allan’s widow as well as her son Gabe and daughters Nani and Christine; Michael Ann’s sister Shirley Graves.

Tim and her family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, social workers and others at Kennewick General Hospital and Hospice at the Chaplaincy who assisted Michael Ann in her year-long battle with cancer and then gently helped her to reach her new path. Assisting in this effort were her many Guardian Angels and their gifts that brightened those dark days. We thank you all.

Memorial services will be held at Richland Lutheran Church, 901 Van Giesen St., Richland, Washington on March 1, 2008 at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of Michael Ann Nelson to: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 530 Dexter Avenue North Ste. 300, Seattle, WA 98109; or to Richland Lutheran Church, 901 Van Giesen St., Richland, WA 99352.