Steven Lawrence Nelson was born on May 21, 1960 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Rita and Carl Nelson. He lived in many locations in his youth, such as Fresno, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and the Monterey Peninsula, finally settling in Sanger, of which he was a resident for over 31 years.

After receiving his GED, Steve went on to serve in the U.S. Navy from 1977 to 1979 aboard the USS Blakely, where he worked as a boiler room technician in the Mediterranean Sea. He was a proud veteran and loved sharing his experiences with family and friends; he especially loved to recall all of the country ports he was able to visit during his service.

Steve worked as a car salesman early in his career, which led to a position as an RV sales specialist for Paul Evert's RV Country, later RV Country, where he worked for over 30 years. While employed, he was able to travel all around the United States, attending numerous RV shows and gatherings. A natural people person, he developed close relationships with his loyal clients and was a greatly successful salesman. He earned many awards from the high-end RV manufacturer Monaco and gained extensive praise and recognition from colleagues and customers during his long career.

Steve was also a citrus farmer for 10 years; he enjoyed the quiet and peaceful time spent farming his ranch during his off time from selling RVs.

He loved fishing, duck hunting, nature, and meeting new people. He had a great gift of connecting with others. He was intelligent, recalling details of his life as if it were yesterday. He liked spending his time reading and learning about all sorts of subjects, world events, and people. He loved music of every genre, and you could often find him by the sound of his music playing from his portable speaker.

He is survived by his wife Teresa of 32 years, daughters Shelby and Paige, mother-in-law Frances Santillan, sister-in-law Elizabeth Romero, niece Rachel Romero (Raymond), nephew Gregory Romero (Cynthia), cousins Steve and Crystal Sherfield and Lynette and Richard van Meters, uncle Raymond Collins (Janice), aunts Mary Sherfield and Marge Rollins, sisters Gail Nelson and Karen Garcia (Pat), half-brother Eric Stoveall, and many second cousins, great nieces, and family friends.

He is preceded in death by parents Rita Nelson and Carl Nelson, stepmother Teri Nelson, grandparents Alice and Lawrence Hertzberg, uncle Edward Hertzberg, aunts Rhoda Clark and Jewel Henderson (Denver), great aunt Charlotte, father-in-law Locadio Santillan, and brother-in-law Locadio Santillan, Jr.

Steve's wit, humor, and charm lit up everyone who met him. His love for his family and friends was unwaveringly unconditional. He often ended his conversations and text messages with the word "peace", hoping he would spread a little light on everyone's day. He will be deeply missed.