Aloha Cravens Nelson

Aloha Cravens Nelson

March 29, 1941 – July 9, 2026

Aloha Cravens Nelson passed from this life into the presence of the Lord she loved on July 9, at her home, surrounded by her family. She was 85.

She was born on March 29, 1941, in Paris, Arkansas, to Lindsey and Jewel Cravens. She grew up in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Galena Park High School in 1959. Not long after, she began a marriage to Bob Nelson that would last sixty years — a partnership of faith, patience, and steady love that shaped everyone who knew them.

Aloha's life was quietly and completely given to Christ and His Kingdom. For twenty years she served on staff at Western Hills Church of Christ, a congregation that was never merely a church to her but a family. The friendships she made there spanned decades and never faded. She was not a woman who sought attention; she had a humble soul and a faith that knew no bounds. Her gift — the one everyone who met her recognized — was simply this: she loved the Lord her God, and she loved her neighbor. She did both without reservation, and she did both until the end.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lindsey and Jewel Cravens; her sister, Dean Shaw; and her brother, Bobby Cravens.

She leaves behind her husband of sixty years, Bob Nelson; her daughter, Kani Herrington; her son, Kerry Nelson; and her honorary daughter, DAnn Wideman. She is also survived by four grandchildren — Hannah Hernandez, Chase Herrington, Nicolas Nelson, and Carolina Nelson — and two great-grandsons, Aubrey and Robbie Hernandez, along with many close nieces and nephews, who knew her simply as someone whose lap and prayers were always open to them.

Her faithful devotion to Christ has now been fulfilled. What she believed, she now sees.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." — 2 Timothy 4:7