Dr. Van Kirke Nelson, a longtime physician in Kalispell who laid the foundation for Northwest Montana’s modern health care services, fought for patients who were without appropriate care and also assembled a world-class art collection, died at his home on Saturday. He was 83.
A memorial reception will be held from 2-5 p.m., Sunday, May 17 at the Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp near Lakeside, according to a death notice published Wednesday in the Daily Inter Lake.
Nelson leaves behind a remarkable legacy as a beloved community icon and steward.
In 1962, he became Kalispell’s first medical specialist to set up practice as an OB-GYN. He later helped establish the Flathead Outpatient Surgical Center, essentially laying the foundation for the region’s modern health care services.
Over his 41-year career, he became the town’s preeminent doctor, answering calls at all hours of the day while mentoring many of the valley’s next generation of young doctors. He regularly traveled to the Blackfeet Reservation to provide health services to those in need.
He fought in the political arena for patients who were not receiving appropriate care and was the largest provider for the pregnant Medicaid population in the valley, never turning away anyone.
He helped co-found the ALERT Air Ambulance, one of the state’s first hospital-based helicopters that now transports more than 300 patients a year and provides life support and care over a 350-mile range. Montana’s first rural emergency air service, ALERT has saved more than 1,420 lives.
He served on several community boards along with his wife, Helen.
Former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus gave a speech on the Senate floor in Washington D.C. on July 15, 2002, praising Nelson’s legacy “that has enriched the very fabric of the community.”
Nelson once delivered six babies in a single day. All together, he personally delivered more than 4,900 newborns throughout his career in Kalispell, Baucus said.
“But the quality of Kirke’s career cannot be measured in numbers,” Baucus continued. “Every day he changed lives and made the Flathead Valley and Montana a better place to live.”
In 2013, Nelson and his wife received Flathead Valley Community College’s Montana Mentor Award, which honors community leaders who exemplify the meaning of mentor. That same year, Nelson received Great Chief Award, the oldest and most prestigious honor in the Kalispell community.
Outside of his distinguished work, Nelson was a renowned art collector. He assembled one of the most extensive collections of Western art in Montana, with paintings and bronzes from the early 1900s, which were featured in his art gallery, Glacier Gallery. Nelson’s collection included several works by Montana’s iconic artist Charles M. Russell.
Last summer the Hockaday Museum of Art featured a public exhibit of the Nelsons’ private art collection, touting it as “rare public display of elements of a world-class collection.”
Nelson will be recognized at this weekend’s annual ALERT banquet. The banquet begins at 5:30 p.m., Saturday in the Trade Center Building of the Flathead County Fairgrounds. Tickets are still available.