Nelma Divine Collings was born on October 12th, 1914, to Ralph and Nellie Hunt Collings, in Monroe Utah. The family moved to Soda Springs,Idaho. It was in the middle of the wilderness and Nelma loved all the plants and creatures and in that place cultivated a lifelong love and study of nature. They didn't stay on this property long but they stayed in Idaho and moved to Wendell. This is where she finished High School. She had met Robert Kersey when she was 13, though she didn't like him much then – he teased her too much. Four years later she met Bob again and he was much nicer. They began dating and within 4 months they were engaged. She had two more years of high school left and had to live with families in town in order to get to school every day. She would clean house and tend children for her room and board, visiting home occasionally on the weekends – when she could find a ride. Right after her graduation Bob's brother drove them to Salt Lake City Utah and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 23rd, 1933. They stayed in Utah for the summer where she got glasses for the first time and joined an art club and began painting. Then they returned to Idaho, looking for work. They bought a lot in Jerome and eventually built a small home, but they had to move around Idaho a lot looking for work. They had two children there, Virginia in June 1934, and Marilyn in December 1935. Bob traveled a lot to find work and even went to California with his brother taking produce back and forth. In 1938 the family left Jerome, traveling by motorcycle, with Nelma and their two daughters in the side car, all the way to California, where Bob's brother John had a stable job at a gas station waiting for him in San Pablo. They had three more children while in California: Sharon, Robert Harold Kersey Jr., and John, who was born during World War II. The family moved to El Sobrante California, where they had purchased a 7 acre lot. They lived here until the three older girls married, then they moved to a farm in Burl Utah for about 2 years until 1962, when they moved to Carey Idaho and various places where Bob could find farm hand work. In 1965 they moved to Pittsburg, California where they lived for the next 17 years. Nelma was the Nature Lady for church camps in Treasure Mountain. She found out that she had cancer of the uterus and soon after discovered it had metastasized to other parts of her body. At this point they decided to live closer to family and moved to Vacaville California in 1983, to live on the ranch of their daughter Marilyn and her husband Firsteen Lane. They lived there until Nelma died on February 21st, 1984. She was buried in the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery, Vacaville, California.
Nelma Divine Collings was born on October 12th, 1914, to Ralph and Nellie Hunt Collings, in Monroe Utah. The family moved to Soda Springs,Idaho. It was in the middle of the wilderness and Nelma loved all the plants and creatures and in that place cultivated a lifelong love and study of nature. They didn't stay on this property long but they stayed in Idaho and moved to Wendell. This is where she finished High School. She had met Robert Kersey when she was 13, though she didn't like him much then – he teased her too much. Four years later she met Bob again and he was much nicer. They began dating and within 4 months they were engaged. She had two more years of high school left and had to live with families in town in order to get to school every day. She would clean house and tend children for her room and board, visiting home occasionally on the weekends – when she could find a ride. Right after her graduation Bob's brother drove them to Salt Lake City Utah and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 23rd, 1933. They stayed in Utah for the summer where she got glasses for the first time and joined an art club and began painting. Then they returned to Idaho, looking for work. They bought a lot in Jerome and eventually built a small home, but they had to move around Idaho a lot looking for work. They had two children there, Virginia in June 1934, and Marilyn in December 1935. Bob traveled a lot to find work and even went to California with his brother taking produce back and forth. In 1938 the family left Jerome, traveling by motorcycle, with Nelma and their two daughters in the side car, all the way to California, where Bob's brother John had a stable job at a gas station waiting for him in San Pablo. They had three more children while in California: Sharon, Robert Harold Kersey Jr., and John, who was born during World War II. The family moved to El Sobrante California, where they had purchased a 7 acre lot. They lived here until the three older girls married, then they moved to a farm in Burl Utah for about 2 years until 1962, when they moved to Carey Idaho and various places where Bob could find farm hand work. In 1965 they moved to Pittsburg, California where they lived for the next 17 years. Nelma was the Nature Lady for church camps in Treasure Mountain. She found out that she had cancer of the uterus and soon after discovered it had metastasized to other parts of her body. At this point they decided to live closer to family and moved to Vacaville California in 1983, to live on the ranch of their daughter Marilyn and her husband Firsteen Lane. They lived there until Nelma died on February 21st, 1984. She was buried in the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery, Vacaville, California.
