Jon Ivan Nuland, 92, of Mesa, Arizona passed away peacefully in his home on December 5, 2024.
Jon was born in Bertha, Minnesota on October 11, 1932, to Inez and Sterling Nuland.
After serving in the Navy, he moved to Arizona to attend college at ASU. While attending a church meeting, he met Louise Jackson. He was interested in learning what she could tell him about Norway, or at least that was his excuse for talking with her. Their mutual interest led to marriage. They were married on December 18, 1961, in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple. Jon went to college for architecture, and could draw amazing designs, but he ended up being a carpenter. He built the house we all grew up in. His career focus later turned to plumbing. He got a couple of contractor jobs, just when he really needed them, that helped to pay off debts so that he could retire. He enjoyed drawing, reading, health and fitness, going boating on the lake, riding his bike, and playing with his kids and grandkids. Long-time Mesa resident, Jon resided in Arizona for the rest of his life.
He is survived by his brother David, 93, His daughters Jonetta, Maren, Anita, Cynthia, and Amy, thirteen grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. Preceded in death by his wife Louse, his daughter Julia Anne, his sister Natalie and his parents.
Burial services will be held on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 9:00 AM at the Mesa Cemetery 1212 N Center St. Mesa AZ.
Funeral/Memorial services will be held on Sunday December 15, 2024, at 3:00 PM at the Church building on 422 E University Dr. Mesa, AZ (NE corner of Mesa Dr. and University).
Arrangements by Bunker’s Garden Chapel, www.bunkerfuneral.com. Should this obituary appear anywhere but bunkerfuneral.com, please check our website for accurate details and service information.
My grandpa Nuland was the only grandpa I ever got to know, but I’d have to say he was the best grandpa ever, and one of the most interesting and incredible people you could ever meet.
Not only was he an amazing artist with an education in architecture who worked as a first class plumber after becoming a father, but he could build (he built his own house), create, fly a plane (at least at some point in his life), and fix anything.
He stayed as curious as a child throughout his life which made him particularly fun to spend time with. Some of my favorite childhood memories are with my grandpa. He plumbed our basement when I was 5 and my parents were building our home, and @_jasonpratt42 and I, often along with a number of our cousins (not my grandpas grandchildren) would spend as much time as we could in that giant dirt hole “helping” him. And he would really have us sawing pvc pipes and putting screws in things.
My family lived in a farm town, so every Halloween we’d go to my grandparents house in Mesa to trick or treat. My parents would take some pictures but then all of the adults would stay home while my grandpa took us out to collect our candy.
He played with us when we’d spend the night. And I’m not talking about board games. I’m talking about letting us climb on the roof, snoop through my grandmas jewelry without her permission, and play with tools.
He was fun, he was funny, and he was my buddy. I was his favorite granddaughter for over a decade until my 2 beautiful girl cousins were born.
He was also a humanitarian and would take in people who were lonely. He’s personally (along with my grandma when she was alive) housed more than 1 person who didn’t have a home of their own. And welcomed multiple senior citizens including his aunt into his home to live until their time here was done.
He lived a full and interesting life, and he will be missed by many, many people.
I love you grandpa and I’ll miss you.
I was one of the younger kids in my neighborhood growing up; there weren’t a lot of us, so I can remember spending a lot of weekends at my grandpa’s house.
I’d spend those weekends playing with the neighbor kids and my aunt Cynthia while my grandparents went about their duties. We had free reign of the grounds, the scrap piles, the nooks, and crannies. There was nothing that couldn’t be built at that house and no better place to play hide and seek.
Like my grandpa, I was an avid crafter, and I was amazed by the house he had built with his own hands. My grandpa, though dutiful, was not hard to distract with a good question. When I took an avid interest in electricity around age 4, he was showing me what tricks I could do with a AA battery, some twigs of copper wire, and a flashlight bulb or an RC motor. He taught me how to strip the ends of the wire and close the circuit. He got me my first robot kit and helped me to put it together.
I can remember one specific time, he was laid back on a dolly working on the underside of his car when I asked him how a gun works. He rolled out from under the vehicle and set down the wrench he was holding. He began trying to explain to me the dynamics of explosive force inside a closed chamber but when he saw my eyes glaze over he dropped what he was doing so we could fashion a potato gun with some PVC pipe and an old bicycle hand pump. When the old hand pump was a bust, we took a trip to the Home Depot for a new one. When we got back with the hand pump but didn’t have any potatoes, we took a trip to the Frys to buy one(1) single potato. When the potato was too big, we cut a plug out of it to fit the pvc pipe barrel of the gun (which sat on the ground and pointed straight up, it was really more of a potato mortar launcher), and we were off to the races! He taught me that crafting is an adventure and that technical problems are always surmountable with a little bit of inginuity. The call to adventure was strong with him and when we got going, the only force that could stop him was my grandma.
Even though he was an avid crafter and a professional who knew his stuff, he was never one to take over a project. It was always collaborative from start to finish. I got to revisit this relationship in recent years, helping him with home repairs. Even if I was the one up on the ladder or handling the tools he’d be right there with me, helping me troubleshoot and come up with a parts list and going with me to the Leanhardt’s where he had been a regular for decades and where, even as an adult I felt like royalty walking behind him in the checkout line.
I only met Jon in 2017 when we moved into Centennial Ward, but we became fast friends with he and Cynthia. I enjoyed learning about his home and property and getting to help him with tasks he could no longer do for himself on occasion. Cynthia is a wonderful helper and friend to our family, especially our daughters. They love playing doll house with her. It was always humbling up until six months ago or so that Jon could beat me at a push up contest. He was an incredibly decent man who loves his family and God with all his heart. I look forward to seeing him again, in his higher form, one day.
Jon was a real jewel of a man, honest, very interesting and never ceased to want to learn about all good things. Especially regarding health. Always ready to help if needed. Responsible in his business career to plan for the future. Just an all around great person.hated missing his burial but was sick today. Thinking of you all.
Bro. Nuland was one of the kindest and most patient men I have ever known. I was one of the neighbor kids who was always at his house playing in his yard and sneaking his tangerines. He was so generous and loving to us little ones! I have so many wonderful memories playing in the ivy beside his house, playing on his giant tire with my sisters, neighbors and his grandsons, climbing up the poles to the top of his swing set, borrowing his tools and pretending that we were inventors or electricians, and trying to climb the rocks on his wall by his front door. Bro. Nuland was always willing to take a break and chat with us or push us on the swing for a while or sneak us a graham cracker with Nutella or a spoonful of peanut butter. Sometimes we were quite naughty and would sneak on his roof to explore his attic. We deserved a good scolding, but he was always so patient and kind about it. Sometimes he would let us in and we could play Aggravation with Cynthia or watch Winnie the Pooh (which was our favorite movie that we didn’t own) or watch Supermarket Sweep. I remember thinking that I needed to have a home one day just like the one he built. He was always so good at eating healthy! I remember that he would frequently make these smoothies that were chock full of vegetables and ask us if we wanted any too. We always turned him down, not sure if he was joking or not. Bro. Nuland always felt like a friend who, in a way, was always on our side. I’ll be forever grateful to that generous man who opened his home and yard to some slightly wild children and made us feel loved and welcomed.