Rolland E. Nelson, 83

Rolland E. Nelson, 83, of Des Moines, Iowa, died Feb. 4, 2004, at the Johnston Mercy Hospice after a sudden illness.

A brief visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in West Des Moines. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9, at First Lutheran Church in Blair. The service will be followed by a brief reception.

Rolland “Rollie” E. Nelson was a World War II veteran with a life-long involvement in the general aviation community. In 1957, he started an aircraft repair shop in Fremont and was later employed as a maintenance inspector for the FAA regional FSDO office in Des Moines, where he retired in 1986. He proudly held ratings as an I.A. and commercial pilot and was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Fremont. He enjoyed walleye fishing, gardening, flying his vintage 1956 Piper Tri-Pacer and cherished his home and his family.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Wini; five children, Nancy and Kevin Cherrington of Lincoln; Shirley and Brent Dixon of Salt Lake City, Utah; Larry Nelson of Clive; Daniel Nelson of Chicago, Ill.; and Jean and Rich Levitt of Davis, Calif.; two grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Harriet Johnson of Omaha.

Memorials are suggested to St. Mark Lutheran Church in West Des Moines or Mercy Hospice-Johnston.

Caldwell-Raddatz Funeral Home and Crematory in Urbandale, Iowa, is in charge of arrangements.

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