Howard Harold, better known as Red, was born in Herman, NE to Lars and Lilly Nelson in 1912.  Ruth was born in 1913 to Emma R. and G. Christian Hansen.  She was a lifelong resident of Council Bluffs and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School.

Following his mother's death, Red ran away from home at age 12 and ended up in Omaha.  He supported himself by working odd jobs and graduated from Omaha Tech High School.  Red then went on to earn a law degree at Omaha University (now the University of Nebraska at Omaha).  He took a position with the Council Bluffs Gas Company, where he worked for nine years.

Red and Ruth were married on October 11, 1935.  He left the Gas Company in 1939 when he received an offer to join Travelers Insurance Company as a field representative - a move that would change the Nelsons' lives forever.

Red spent the next three years immersed in the insurance business, learning everything he could about the industry.  In 1945, he and Ruth took a leap of faith and opened their own agency.  The fledgling Nelson Insurance Agency was run by the Nelsons as equal partners - Ruth handled the office duties and kept the books while Red visited prospects and clients across the city.  Sons, John P. and Stephen, joined the family business at a very early age.  Ruth and the boys spent many hours in the family car as Red drove through neighborhoods selling policies door to door for a commission of $1 per policy.

Over sixty years later, after mergers and acquisitions in 1967, 1968, 1978, and 1991, Red and Ruth's business has prospered.  From the humble, one-room, two-employee beginning, the firm, now known as SilverStone Group, employs over 170 associates and has offices in Council Bluffs and Des Moines, IA, Sioux Falls, SD, and Lincoln, NE, and is headquartered in Omaha.  The scope of the business expanded to include group benefits, retirement and pension plans, executive benefits, wealth transfer, and human resource consulting.

In 1998, Red and Ruth founded and served as officers for the H. H. "Red" and Ruth H. Nelson Family Foundation, which helps fund organizations that serve others.  Ruth, particularly, was always a strong advocate for educational opportunities, and the Nelson Foundation has awarded numerous college scholarships to local youth.  The current Board of Directors includes:  John P. Nelson, John H. Nelson, Katherine Staker, William Cutler III, Edwin Drustrup, Mary Louise Kraschel, and Thomas Whitson.

In 2004, Red and Ruth were awarded the prestigious Jason Award by Children's Square U.S.A. for their many community contributions and, in particular, for the support of causes benefiting children.  In 2006, the Nelson Family Foundation pledged a $1 million challenge donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs, which helped to underwrite the building of a Council Bluffs facility completed in 2008 on the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus.

Surrounded by his beloved family, Red Nelson passed away on February 21, 2007, at the age of 94.  Ruth followed him on April 24, 2007, also at age 94.  The Nelson legend is build on Red's decision to be an uncommon man and on the partnership he and Ruth forged.  The choices they made in their life together served their family, their business, and their community well.  Both Red and Ruth led by example and, through that example, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren continue their legacy of service to the community.  Red and Ruth are truly missed by many.  They just don't make 'em like that any more.