Craig Kent Nelson
May 6, 1967 - July 18, 2026
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Craig Kent Nelson, a man of boundless adventure, humor, and hard work. Born May 6, 1967, to Byron Kent Nelson and Mary Lynnette Slaughter in Salt Lake City, Utah. Though a life cut short, his was a life spent fulfilling dreams in the now, touching lives at every turn.
Craig passed away Saturday July 18, 2026, doing what he loved most, atop American Fork Twin Peaks in Snowbird, Utah, which ironically, was Craig’s self-proclaimed “Happy Place”, spending the last 50+ years hiking and skiing the resort.
He was a relentless world traveler, always investigating the next trip. He participated in many hiking expeditions summiting Mount Aconcagua, Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, Grand Teton, Mount Blanc Circuit, and Mount Everest’s base camp just to mention a few. He was driven by his endless thirst for adventure and pursued these and many other such activities non-stop to the end.
Craig was also a very skilled and hardworking person. He participated in and won the Utah State VICA competition in plumbing and placed 3rd in Nationals all while completing his senior year in high school. He then went on and fulfilled a 40-year career in the plumbing and pipe-fitting trade and experienced the pleasures of retiring.
Having spent the better half of his career on the University of Utah account, he was especially proud when his daughter was recently employed by the university. He was also a 25 year season ticket holder of Utah Football which he greatly enjoyed.
He had a lifelong passion for rock and roll music and was an avid reader, reading on average a novel every two or three weeks for past 20+ years. (that is a lot of books!)
Craig’s legacy of adventure, humor, and hard work will most certainly be carried forward by his beautiful daughter Malynn, stepson Christian, and those of us that had the pleasure of knowing him. He will be greatly missed and forever remembered.
He was preceded in death by his father Byron, stepmother Rose, brother Scott, brother-in-law Ron, and nephew Chris. Survived by his loving daughter Malynn, stepson Christian, mother Lynnette, twin brother Mark (Cheri), sisters Carrie, Stacey, Sarah (Eric), and Jessie (Jeremy), former wife Judy, and former wife Jamie. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and cherished friends.
A memorial celebrating Craig’s life will be on Friday, August 7th, 2026 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In Loving Memory
RIP uncle Craig!
Craig was such an inspiration. I worked with Craig at KOH for a period of time. He work hard and played hard. I always looked forward to seeing his pics of his journeys on Facebook. My condolences to his daughter, twin brother and all his family. Rest in peace homie and climb those glorious peaks I the after life. Love ya bro!!!
My heart goes out to all his friends and his family what a tragic lose. Sending you all my love during this hard time. Love, Angi
My dearest friend, thank you for all your kindness and fun times we had. You won’t be forgotten and I hope you are traveling far and can meet those aliens you spoke of! My sincerest condolences to the Nelson family.
Such a tragic loss. Craig and the Nelson family were a special blessing to the Hekker family. My sincere condolences.
Our sincere condolences to the Nelson family. We are glad we got to know you when Rosemary married Byron. Thank you to whoever put together the beautiful video of Craig's life. Love to all.... Bob & Joy From the beautiful PNW, home to Mt. Rainier!
Wow! What an incredible video documenting Craig's life. My condolences his family.
Condolences to all of Craig’s family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this most difficult time. He was a fun, adventurous person who loved all that the outdoors offered and took advantage of it. We loved his sense of adventure and are fortunate and happy to be able to share in some of those ski and hiking trips. Fondly, Ned and Gail
I was completely shocked to hear of Craig passing at our union retirement lunch. I expected to see him there. I was just getting to know pretty good over the last couple of years because I would see him at the vasa gym in Draper about once or twice a week. We would talk a lot about retiring from work and how he wanted to make sure his daughter was taken care of in case anything happened to him. I am so glad that I got to ski with him one time at snowbird. He was such a great guy. I will miss seeing him at the gym and I'm going to try to make that hike to twin peaks in his Honer. My heart goes out to his family. See you on the other side Craig. Thanks for becoming a good friend to me.
In Loving Memory
