Three Members of Country Gospel Group The Nelons Die in Plane Crash

For nearly 50 years, The Rex Nelon Singers, who became known simply as The Nelons in 1985, were one of the groups that helped define the nexus between country and Gospel music, often referred to as Southern Gospel. The group has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and numerous Dove Awards throughout the legacy of the band that has seen generations of the Nelon Family take up the mantle of the family’s music. The group was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame in 2016.

Now,  the unspeakable has happened.

In an airplane crash on Friday, July 26th about 1:00 pm Mountain (local) time, three of the four current members of The Nelons perished. Husband and wife Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark died in the plane crash, along with their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler. The couple’s youngest daughter and lone surviving member of the band, Autumn Nelon Streetman, was waiting for her family at the airport in Seattle where they were scheduled to perform on a cruise.

Also perishing in the plane crash were Nathan Kistler, who was the husband of Amber Nelon Kistler, making it four members from the greater Nelon family who died. The family’s assistant Melodi Hodges also died, as well as the pilot Larry Haynie, and his wife Melissa Haynie. The plane went down near Gillette, Wyoming and reportedly caused a 38-acre wildfire.

The National Transportation Safety Board says that a preliminary investigation has determined that an autopilot issue may have caused the crash of the 11-seat Pilatus. It is still under investigation as the crash site is in a remote area.  

“Thank you for the prayers that have been extended already to me, my husband, Jamie, and our soon-to-be-born baby boy, as well as Jason’s parents, Dan and Linda Clark,” surviving member Autumn Nelon Streetman said on social media.

Mother Kelly Nelon Clark was also an actress that appeared in the ABC fantasy drama Resurrection among other projects.

The group was started as the Rex Nelon Singers in Georgia by Rex Nelon in 1977. It was a spinoff from another family group called The Lefevres. Rex Nelon died in 2000, with his daughter, Kelly Nelon Clark, carrying on with the band. Kelly Nelon sang in the group with her husband, Jerry Thompson, until the couple divorced in 1998. Her two daughters, Amber and Autumn, joined the group as members, along with Kelly Nelon’s new husband, Jason Clark, who married Kelly Nelon in 2001.

Music from The Nelon’s resulted in three Grammy Award nominations, in 1979, 1982 and 1990. The group’s 1987 album Thanks became a landmark of the country Gospel, or Southern Gospel sound, and included the hits “Come Morning” and “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown.” The music was country, but the lyricism was spiritual, helping to forward the Southern Gospel genre.