Eva Nelson was born four miles southwest of Hallock, Minnesota (Kittson County), on June 29, 1884, to Henrik and Sella (Olson) Nelson. She had one younger brother, Cornelius (1887-1983), and one younger sister, Otellia (1889-1919). The family farmed southwest of Hallock, where Eva attended school.

In 1901, Eva began teaching. She taught for many years in several Tine Township, Kittson County schools, until 1921, when she received her teachers’ pension. She then moved to Turlock, California, where she began her second career. Eva then enrolled in the Emmanuel Hospital Nursing School, from which she graduated in November 1923. In 1924, she became the Hospital Director and Supervisor of Nurses at the Emmanuel Hospital. She also served at the Mission Covenant Church Hospital and in private practice until her retirement, sometime around 1957. In 1970 or 1971, she moved into the Brandel Manor Nursing Home, in Turlock.

Eva Nelson died on October 5, 1974 in Turlock, California.