Iris Loriene Nelson

Iris Nelson, 89, of Cheyenne, passed away on July 4, 2022, at Granite Rehabilitation where she was living for the past 7 years due to a long stretch with Alzheimer's disease. Iris was born December 6, 1932 in Fort Morgan, CO, to Reginald Lawson Hoyt and Vera Vivian Metz. She was a tough and strong woman who had grown up on several farms in Morgan County, CO.
Iris worked at many different occupations. She had been a waitress at (Cals) Denver Hill Inn, The Longhorn Cafe, The Coffee Cup and the Owl Inn, she was a seamstress at Alpine Designs, she worked in the kitchen at DePaul hospital, as well as housekeeping at DePaul and Mountain View Towers. She especially loved being a Foster Grandparent for the school district in Cheyenne, WY.
Iris loved going to church, dancing and listening to country music, as well as playing Bingo.

Iris was very proud that her paternal great grandmother, Sidney Davis Hoyt, wife of Dr. John Schuyler Hoyt, along with their son, Dr. James Albert Hoyt, were the namesakes for the town of Hoyt in Morgan County, CO. Iris's other paternal great grandparents, Joseph Michael Rawlings and Julia Ann Foster Rawlings, also homesteaded in the town of Hoyt.
The son of the Hoyts, Edwin G. Hoyt and the daughter of the Rawlings, Kate Arnetta Rawlings, were her paternal grandparents.
Iris's maternal grandparents were Casper Alaska (George) Metz, the son of Francis Metz and Favilla Moffitt and Harriet Sarah Avery, the daughter of John Scidmore Avery and Myra Stanton.
Iris worked at many different occupations. She had been a waitress at (Cals) Denver Hill Inn, The Longhorn Cafe, The Coffee Cup and the Owl Inn, she was a seamstress at Alpine Designs, she worked in the kitchen at DePaul hospital, as well as housekeeping at DePaul and Mountain View Towers. She especially loved being a Foster Grandparent for the school district in Cheyenne, WY.
Iris is survived by her children, Ann Marie (Wes) Rutherford of Virginia, Patrick (Karen) Flemming of Idaho, Dave (Ginger) Snyder of Nebraska, Fred Cooley of Wyoming, Eugene Smuin of Utah, Kirk (Tammie) Myers of Utah, Max (Loretta) Nelson of Colorado, Naomi (Jerry) Young of Wyoming, Donna (Bob) Christner of Arizona.
She is also survived by brothers, Ben and John Larkins; sisters, Ruth Hoyt Simmons, Virginia Hoyt Layman, Vivian Larkins Franklin, and Sharon K. Larkins Wilford; 40 grandchildren, and many great grandchildren, as well as great-great grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her parents; two sons, Ronald Dean Cooley, husband of Janice Bonitatibus Sweet, and (Ricky) Reginald Lawson Nelson; brothers, Reginal Lawson Hoyt, Jr. and George Hoyt Larkins; sisters, Vera Mae, Barbara, and Betty Hoyt, Gwendolyn Morris, Nova West and Alice Faye Whetstone.
Iris will be greatly missed and always loved by those she has left behind.

There will be a viewing Wednesday at Wiederspahn-Radomsky Chapel from 10-4. Graveside services will be held at Beth El Cemetery, on July 15, 2022, 10:00 AM, with reception following at The Gathering Place. Pall bearers will be Max Nelson, Jerry Young, Thomas Cooley, Marc Casner, Richard Tenorio, and Mason Ralls.