Coleen Ardith Nelson, former general manager of The Prague Post and a charismatic figure in Prague's media and communications world, died April 8 after a courageous 14-month battle with lung cancer. She was 48.

A native of Nicollet, Minnesota, Nelson moved to Prague in 1993, working as an executive assistant at the law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey until she was hired as advertising director at The Prague Post, then advanced to the newly created position of general manager in 1996. She later worked briefly as general manager of the daily Metro before joining Citibank in 2000 as director of public relations.

Nelson was also active in the American Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club Prague International and Forum Zen and was a devout member of St. Michael's Lutheran Church.

After moving back to the United States in 2002, she worked in public relations and recruiting positions at Thrivent Financial Services, first in Appleton, Wisconsin, and then in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While in Wisconsin, she met husband Steve Nelson, a Lutheran pastor who happened to share the same last name and who moved with her to Minnesota. Three weeks before they were married in June 2004, Nelson adopted a daughter, Elizabeth Diana, in Kazakhstan.

In February 2004, Nelson was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, a shock to all; she was a nonsmoker and had kept physically fit, running the Prague International Marathon and half-marathon in 2000. In characteristic style, Nelson remained positive and upbeat despite the terminal illness, agreeing to appear on a local news show to help personalize a story about the growing phenomenon of younger female nonsmokers suffering from lung cancer.

In a speech she gave to her Thrivent colleagues last January, she said, "It never gets easier to talk about dying, especially when I think of my little girl and husband. As a Christian, I'm not afraid to die — as a matter of fact, I'm excited to go to Heaven and see God. It's the humanness in me that cries over having to leave the people I love here on Earth. Sometimes I don't know if I'll have the strength to bear it. I pray."

Prague Post publisher Lisa Frankenberg said, "Coleen gave years of passion and energy to The Prague Post. Her passing is a shock."

Friend Susan Tietjen said, "Intrepid, delightful, unforgettable — that was our Coleen. She made you feel loved and she was loved." Another close friend, Irena Brichta, said "Coleen left this world in the same way she lived in it, with an inimitable grace and style."

A memorial service will be held at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in North St. Paul, Minnesota, April 17 at 4 p.m. Central Time. More information and tributes may be found and posted at www.caringbridge.org/visit/coleennelson.