Donald P. Nelson

Having fun in Canada.

Donald Peter Nelson, my father, born in October 1925 grew up with his younger sister Eva through the Great Depression and into a World War. He was drafted at age 18, before he finished high school, and entered the navy during World War II. After his discharge from the navy he started working for The Telephone Company, where he continued until his retirement 38 years later. He met Iva Alm and married her in 1952. They had a son Jeffrey in 1954 and I joined the family in 1957. We lived in a close family on both sides. Sunday dinner was a regular event at Grandma Alm’s in Forest Lake when I was growing up and we were there often. Aunts, uncles, and cousins crowded around the tables where much food disappeared and talking, joking, and laughter were continuous. For dad I think it really was a second family and he seemed to fit in like just another brother. When mom and dad moved to Forest Lake he would spend time with Russell it seemed like most every day and my mom had some t-shirts made for them with “My Going To Meet Russ Shirt” and “My Going To Meet Don Shirt” printed on them as a gag one Christmas. Dad and mom took us on family camping vacations almost every summer for many years in our little pop-up camper. Usually one of the Grandma’s would join us and we headed west for two or three weeks to learn a little bit about the history of our nation and see some of the great beauty it had in store. Later on we would take a pickup camper up to Alaska and back (when the Al-Can highway was still gravel), and also out to the eastern US/Canada as well as to Florida on other trips. Dad was an Eagle Scout and when Jeff and I got old enough for scouting dad got involved and eventually became Scoutmaster for Troop 196, a position that he held for many years. He believed a scout troop that camped regularly would keep the boys interested and he made sure there was a weekend of camping every month in spring and fall, and two weeks of summer-camp. The troop thrived because he was right. I can’t remember him missing a weekend or summer camp. Ever organized, he enjoyed seeing a bunch of pre-teens and teenagers cooking meals, learning new skills, and growing into young men. I graduated from high-school with a number of boys that were in the troop. At high-school reunions several of them always asked how my father was doing and said how much they appreciated the time and effort he put into scouting and how it had influenced their lives for the better. Dad loved projects. I remember many construction and remodeling projects that dad worked on, often with his brothers-in-law and other family friends. They could put an addition on a house, build a deck, install a new roof, or cut a single-car garage in half and turn it into a double garage. He was a good electrician and wired his own house when they built in Forest Lake. When Jeff and I bought houses dad was always there to help us. Even in his 70s he was climbing ladders, painting, siding, wiring, and any other number of tasks. When we talked to Pastor Phil this week about my dad, my brother said dad was “The Original Recycler” right as I was thinking the exact same thing. Dad never liked to throw much away because he was sure it would probably come in handy some time in the future for someone, somewhere Over the last few months we have found some rather interesting and puzzling things in his garage and shop. I am sure we will find quite a few more in the weeks and months to come. Dad enjoyed hunting, mostly for pheasants, and shooting trap, but he really loved to fish. My brother and I learned how to fish at a young age and continued to fish with dad for many years to come. He started going on fly-in fishing trips in Canada when we were still in school and later on when my brother and I were out on our own we joined him on those trips for many years. Dad told me many times that one of his favorite things to do was to go fishing with his sons. A number of years ago my brother bought a cabin on an island on Leech Lake. This turned out to be just about heaven for dad, there was an unlimited supply of projects (which certainly needed many of those things he had been saving) and it was a place to go fishing with one or both of his sons! Of all the things I remember about my dad I think I most like to remember him as a teacher. No, he never stood up in front of a chalkboard that I know of but that wasn’t necessary. He taught us that family was important, and spending time with your children is one of the best things that you can do for them. He reminded us how blessed we were to have been born in this country, but there was always room for improvement. He taught his sons how to hunt and fish, and to be good sportsmen and treat life and our planet with respect. He taught us that people should be judged by who they were as an individual, not what part of the world they came from or what group they happened to be a part of. Dad never saw the need for a big house or expensive cars, he showed us that living below your means can make life less stressful when it throws that inevitable curveball at you. He taught us that hard work is honorable no matter what type of work it is, and when that paycheck comes in to save some of it and to give some of it away. Dad also passed along quite a bit of those do-it-yourself abilities to my brother and me. It wasn’t just Jeff and I as students either, as a scout leader dad often spent time with boys that had fathers that were just too busy or couldn’t be bothered to spend time with their sons. I guess some of life’s most important lessons aren’t taught in classrooms. Dad slowed down quite a bit over the last few years. Then last January we lost part of him when he suffered a stroke. He became a bit of a minor celebrity in the ICU when word spread that the last time he saw a doctor was the year I was born. Doctors and nurses would come into the room and inevitably would ask “Is that really true?”. He had some significant damage and it was difficult to know for sure where as he had trouble communicating but he still knew his family. When I went to visit him when he spotted a familiar face with his one good eye his face would brighten up and he would offer up his right arm for a handshake with that vice-grip hand. Over the last 4 or 5 months our family has had many ups and downs as he struggled with his injuries and we struggled together as well. I sure am going to miss him but won’t ever forget who he was and what he did for me and many others.