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SALT LAKE CITY — Some things in life are worth waiting for. In a way, Affra Nelson's been waiting a lifetime to see a B-17 Flying Fortress in person.

"Grandma called us up, and she was so excited," said Matt Snell, Affra Nelson's grandson. "She was elated."

When Nelson saw an article in the paper about the vintage WWII bomber making a stop in Utah, she grabbed the phone immediately.

"She called us all directly," Snell said. "Invited us individually — who can say no to their 97-year-old grandma?"

That invitation was for six of her grandsons to take a flight in the restored aircraft.

"Of course, we were a little apprehensive," Snell said. "She wanted to fund the flight too. She wouldn't let any of us pay for it. 'Absolutely not, this is my treat.'"

Though she needs a little help getting around and her eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, Nelson's mind is as sharp as ever, as is her will, which is clear from the fact that every one of the grandsons she invited showed up.

Nelson told them she was too old to take the trip herself but wanted them all to be there to celebrate one special day. "Honoring Ray Nelson, the grandpa, because it was his hundredth birthday," said Nelson.

Ray Nelson had a strong connection to the aircraft Affra Nelson brought her family out to see. "He worked on the B-17s with the radar equipment and radio that was damaged for 2 1/2 years, 4 1/2 (years) in the military," she said. "

When the planes returned from missions, Ray Nelson was on the ground, working feverishly to repair damaged components before crews headed out again. Affra Nelson carries the proof of his work with her in a binder and proudly shows off an old newspaper clipping with a photo of Ray, hard at work.

"My sweetheart was in England, doing his best," she said.

Affra Nelson is proud to show off this photo from a newspaper of her late husband hard at work during WWII. (Photo: Nelson family photo)

Affra Nelson called him her "sweetheart" because they'd met in high school — even though he wasn't interested at first.

"I chased him until he became interested," Affra Nelson said with a smile. "Made myself available."

And while Ray Nelson was doing his part in the service, Affra Nelson wanted to do hers.

"I wanted to join the Navy," she said with a tinge of regret. "And my dad said 'No. No way are you going to do that.'"

So she obeyed — to a point.

"I thought I should do something noble," she said. "I took my dad's car, went up to Hill Air Force Base (and) took a civil service exam."

Affra Nelson and her grandsons look out at the B-17 after it landed. (Photo: Ray Boone)

She ended up in Hawaii, doing secretarial work at Hickham Air Field, next to Pearl Harbor.

"Just to help. Let's get this thing going. Everything was help, help the United States. We must win this war. We must stop the German aggression. We have to," she said.

Nelson stayed there in Honolulu, exchanging letters with Ray Nelson across the oceans until she got word that he'd come home.

"I wired to BYU, 'Can I go back to BYU?'" she said. "Had to pay my own way home on a troop ship. Got home, the sparks were still there."

The couple was married just two weeks later. They built a life together with their three children until he passed away in 2001 after a long battle with Parkinson's. Affra Nelson said he's always on her mind.

"A lot," she said. "Every day. Every day. He's there with me."

Those memories are what led Nelson to invite six of her grandsons — her late husband's pallbearers — to take a flight in the same kind of plane Ray Nelson worked on, giving them a chance to feel as close to her husband as she does.

And as big of a surprise this trip was to them, Nelson had one more trick up her sleeve. Snell said he became suspicious when his brother was late to pick him up.

"She was just in the car," he said. "I thought she was just coming to watch, and of course I asked her, 'So are you going to come, grandma?' She said,'Oh yes.'"

Affra Nelson gives two thumbs up to say she's ready to go. (Photo: Ray Boone)

Despite claiming she wouldn't even be able to climb into the bomber, that's exactly what Affra Nelson did.

"Her sister-in-law called her up and said 'Affra. You must go,'" Snell said. "This is once in a lifetime. You're 97 years old, you're not going to get another shot to do this."

And that's how Affra Nelson found herself sitting by the window, wearing a smile as she pulled out her hearing aids instead of accepting a pair of earplugs. Because some things in life are worth waiting for and Nelson believes her husband's been waiting for this day just as long as she has.

"He would be cheering, he would be the head cheerleader," she said.

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