Margaret Eileen Nelson

Margaret “Meg” Nelson was born July 9, 1948, in Newark, New Jersey, to Charles and Esther Nelson. Over the next 78 years, she would make her way across the country and around the world, taking on new careers, new causes and new adventures. Meg passed away on August 14, 2026, having most recently called both Port Orchard, Washington, and Walton County, Florida, home.

It is hard to describe Meg with one label because she never really lived one life. She was a chemist, journalist, newspaper editor, environmental advocate, nonprofit leader, consultant, artist, wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend who kept finding new things to care deeply about.

After making her way from New Jersey to Seattle, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Washington. Science was her first professional path, but Meg was never one to stay in a single lane. She was creative, curious, opinionated and restless in the best sense of the word. If something mattered to her, she tended to get involved.

That was especially true of the natural environment. Meg served as Deputy Director of Apalachicola Riverkeeper and as a consultant to Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper. She and her husband Ken were also part of the team that developed the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center in Freeport, Florida, which has introduced thousands of children to biodiversity and conservation through hands-on environmental education.

As a journalist, writing professionally as Meg Stevenson and serving as editor of the DeFuniak Herald-Breeze, she covered Walton County government and community affairs. Her work over the years extended to additional nonprofit leadership, fundraising, the arts, and civic engagement.

Creativity was another constant in her life. Sewing, weaving, crafting, ceramics, painting, music, food, current events and literature were always somewhere in the mix. Sometimes they waited quietly in the background; sometimes they took over the whole room.

Meg brought her spirit of adventure to her life with her husband of 22 years, Ken Vogel. They married in their “Blue Moon wedding” beach ceremony on July 31, 2004. Ken remembers her as fearless and ready for anything. Their life together took them around the country and the world, including Oman, Chile, France, England and Iceland, and moves to Mexico City, California and North Carolina. Meg had a way of landing somewhere new, connecting with people, finding something interesting to do, and making a life there.

She rarely needed much convincing to try something new. Her children might put it a little differently: Meg was happiest with a little bit of wildness around her, whether it was a beach at sunset, a wooded trail, a new project or whatever unexpected thing came next.

Above all, Meg loved her family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Ken; her children, David and Suzanne; her daughter-in-law, Mary; her grandchildren, Sofie, Henry and Miles; her sister, Noel; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, extended family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Esther Nelson, and her sister, Jayne.

Meg was smart, complicated, funny, stubborn, creative, adventurous and intensely curious about the world. Her life wasn’t one straight line. It was a series of well-lived and well-loved chapters.

A celebration of Meg’s life will be held Sunday, September 13, 2026, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Sunnyslope Community Club, 5830 SW Old Clifton Road, Port Orchard, Washington. Appetizers and light refreshments will be served, with time to visit and share memories. Afterward, family and friends are invited to Meg and Ken’s home for an informal gathering with food, drinks, and more stories.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Meg’s memory to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).

Please share your condolences and memories of Meg on her guestbook below.

- Care Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home -