Hamilton - Miles A. Nelsen, 71, passed away peacefully due to a cardiac episode, Friday, July 17, 2026, at his home in Hamilton.

Miles was born in Hamilton in 1954 and graduated from Hamilton High School in 1972. As a

boy he enjoyed exploring the Bitterroot mountains and canyons, and he and his father spent

countless hours fishing mountain creeks and the tributaries of the Bitterroot River. These early

experiences instilled in him a strong environmental ethic that remained with him throughout

his life. Trips to the big city, Missoula, were in the family 47 Chevy and Miles fondly

remembered Brooks Street lined with agricultural fields and the old Missoula sawmill, now the

site of Southgate Mall. Miles served in the US Marine Corps for 4 years and was stationed in

bases throughout the US and abroad. Upon return he attended the University of Montana

where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology. He worked for the US Forest

Service and also for several native plant nurseries growing plants for ecosystem restoration. He

was fluent in Spanish and loved to travel to Spain on extended journeys throughout the

countryside. On one of those trips, he made his way northward to Denmark and Norway where

he met all of his Nelsen relatives, and he stayed in touch with them throughout his lifetime. His

other passions were raising llamas and assembling an amazing collection of model trains that

reminded him of the good ol’ days of early Montana life. He was a fun road trip companion,

insisting on stopping in every small town along the way, walking the streets and engaging the

citizenry in lively conversation. He was well read, well informed, and an astute historian and

political analyst. He was always there to help a friend – the first to arrive to help families

evacuate during the 2000 fire. His mission in life seemed to be to seek out a time and place,

now lost, when life was still simple and innocent. He was one of the funniest and quirkiest

humans that ever lived and delighted everyone with his storytelling. He always took the road

less travelled, and sacrificed financial success and materialism for an unpretentious life.