Rev. Robert G. Nelson

Rev. Robert G. Nelson, 78, of Loveland, Colo., died Oct. 7, 2007, at Good Samaritan Village in Loveland.

A memorial service was held Oct. 15 at the Spiritual Life Center at Good Samarian Village.

Robert G. Nelson was born Nov. 21, 1928, in Racine, Wis., to Harold and Augusta (Due) Nelson.

He graduated from Washington Park High School in Racine in 1947; from Dana College in 1952; and Trinity Theological Seminary in Blair in 1955. He received his doctorate of ministry from San Francisco Seminary in California in 1983.

On Dec. 30, 1952, he married Arlene Sandberg at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Council Bluff, Iowa.

The Rev. Nelson served as a U.S. Air Force chaplain from 1955 until 1961, stationed in Greenville, S.C., the Panama Canal Zone, and Madison, Wis.

He then entered the Lutheran parish ministry, with the ALC and ELCA church in Lincoln from 1961-1966; Fort Collins, Colo., from 1966-1977; Sioux City, Iowa from 1977-1979; Sterling, Colo., from 1979-1984; and Colorado Springs, Colo. from 1984-1995.

The Rev. and Mrs. Nelson retired to the mountain home in Red Feathers Lake, Colo., in 1996, where he enjoyed fishing and woodworking. In 2002, they moved to Good Samaritan Village.

During his lifetime, he served on the National Stewardship Committee of the American Lutheran; he was active in the Amputee Coalition of America; Sertoma; Kiwanis; barbershop chorus; and is a member of the Dana College Athletic Hall of Fame.

He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather; a dedicated and compassionate pastor; and an advocate for the right of the disabled. He tolerated his own disability without complaint.

He is survived by his wife, Arlene, of Loveland; son, Joel Nelson of Janesville, Wis.; daughters and sons-in-law, Karen and Steve Smith and Katherine and Roger Flahive, all of Littleton, Colo., and Roberta Nelson and Gary Debus of Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 10 grandchildren; and a sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Ivan Eckholm of Beloit, Wis.

He was preceded in death by twin grandsons.

Memorials are suggested to the Loveland Good Samaritan Village or the charity of the donor’s choice.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~