Who was Russell M Nelson married to? All about wives and kids as LDS president dies at 101

Russell M Nelson, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away on September 27 at the age of 101. According to Time, Nelson was the oldest president in the history of the church.

At the time of his death, Russell M Nelson was married to Sister Wendy Nelson. As per The Church News, Sister Nelson was the second wife of the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was previously married to Sister Dantzel Nelson.

Nelson wed his first wife, then known as Dantzel White in 1945 at the Salt Lake Temple, notes The Church News. The couple, who were married for almost 60 years, were parents to ten children - nine daughters and one son, in addition to having 57 grandchildren and more than 167 great-grandchildren, as per Time.

About Russell M Nelson’s family life

Russell M Nelson joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ governing body in 1984 after having a career as a heart surgeon, according to Time.

The late president’s children have described their father as someone who led a very fulfilling life as a devoted husband and father.

One of Nelson’s daughters, Gloria Irion recalled the years when she and her siblings were young.  According to a report on the family by The Church News, Irion reflected on nights when her father arrived home late after working and would pick up a sleeping baby. She said,

“He would come find that baby in the crib, pick her up, nuzzle his nose in her neck, hold her and smell her and sing to her and coo to her, and put her back down. He was a very calm, patient and loving father. He really didn’t raise his voice. He was stern to us if we were rude to mom, but very, very Christlike.”

Nelson also celebrated mother’s day with special rituals with his wife and daughters. Ac per The Church News, Nelson gifted a corsage to his wife, as well as his daughters to wish them a happy life as a mother in the future.

Irion told the news outlet that her father’s attitude towards his wife informed her and her sisters’ desire to be a mother. She remarked,

“This is the way we treat this person. She’s precious and an ‘angel mother,’ he called her. There is no surprise to me that we were all so excited to be mothers because of the way he felt that position was such a place of honor, such a calling of honor. He honored us as women as well as potential mothers.”

Tragically, Nelson’s first wife, Dantzel Nelson, passed away suddenly in 2005, as per The Daily Universe. Before Dantzel’s passing, the couple also endured the grief attached to the death of one of their children, Emily.

Reflecting on the period after Dantzel died during a general conference talk, Nelson said in 2018, when he was chosen to lead the church,

“In 2005, after nearly 60 years of marriage, my dear Dantzel was unexpectedly called home. For a season, my grief was almost immobilizing. But the message of Easter and the promise of resurrection sustained me.”

During the same speech, however, Nelson noted how he met his second wife, Wendy, who came as a blessing to him. He added,

“Then the Lord brought Wendy Watson to my side. We were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on April 6, 2006. How I love her! She is an extraordinary woman—a great blessing to me, to our family, and to the entire Church.”

According to The Church News, Nelson served as the President of the church alongside Wendy who often accompanied him on ministry tours.