Kathleen McInally Nelson SALT LAKE CITY — Kathleen McInally Nelson, 58, died Aug. 31, 2010, after a heart-related accident. McInally was born Oct. 8, 1951 in Price to Jack and Peggy McInally. She grew up in southern California and possessed an independent spirit. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Redlands and a juris doctorate from the University of Utah. While in law school, she met and married Aaron Alma Nelson on Aug. 3, 1974. In November 1998 she was appointed to the Second District Juvenile Court by then-Gov. Michael O. Leavitt. That same year, she was honored by the Utah State Bar as one of the first 100 women lawyers in Utah. As a juvenile court judge, she represented Davis, Morgan and Weber counties. She was instrumental in the development of drug courts in the Second District Juvenile Court and presided over the Weber County Family Drug Court and Delinquency Court. At the time of her appointment, she was managing attorney in the Second District Guardian and Litem Office. Prior to that she was a sole practitioner and an attorney with the law firm of Diumenti, Harward and Nelson. In addition to her professional experiences, she served on the Weber-Morgan County Children’s Justice Center board of directors and the advisory board for the Department of Child and Family Studies at Weber State University. A devout Catholic, she volunteered for a number of years with the Good Samaritan Program and the Guadalupe Center. Her fundamental passion in life was her family. She loved people and had a talent for developing lasting relationships, even with total strangers. She made people feel understood and appreciated, and treated everyone with equal respect. She loved cultural experiences: opera, ballet, museums, architecture, historical tours and antiques. She is survived by her husband, Aaron Alma Nelson; mother Peggy McInally; brothers Patrick, Thomas and Timothy McInally; sister Nancy Loftus; daughters Amanda Nelson and Bridget Nelson; and granddaughter Camrin Jones. A funeral Mass was celebrated in the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
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