Nelson, LeRoy Nels (1924-2017)

NELSON, CARLSON, TAPLEY, ARMSTRONG, WRIGHT, WITTE, BOSSOM

Posted By: Paul Nagy, volunteer (email)
Date: 7/28/2017 at 18:53:24

LeRoy Nels Nelson
September 4, 1924 - June 23, 2017

LeRoy N. Nelson, 92, of Forest City and formerly of Sac City, died peacefully on Friday, June 23, 2017, at the Good Samaritan Center in Forest City

LeRoy Nels Nelson, the fourth child of six of Nels Oral and Lillian B. (Carlson) Nelson, was born on September 4, 1924, in rural Valpariso, Nebraska. He attended country school through the eighth grade. Because of the Depression, all members of his family had to find jobs. LeRoy always regretted he did not have any further education. In 1940, he moved with his family to Sac County, Iowa. In 1943, he entered the United States Navy where he served until 1946. A carpenter’s mate in the Navy, he attended the Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the G.I. Bill of Rights after his discharge for training in construction.

After completing his education, LeRoy returned to Sac City where he was employed by several building contractors before becoming a self-employed contractor owning and operating his own business for over fifty years. A long-time member of the First Baptist Church, the First Christian Church, and most recently, the Forest City United Methodist Church, he served in various capacities. In addition, he belonged to the American Legion, the V.F.W. in Sac City, Iowa, and the Eastern Star of Sac City. In 2014, he transferred to #68 O.E.S. of Algona. He was a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge #178 in Sac City.

On May 23, 1954, LeRoy married Margaret Jean Tapley at the United Methodist Church in Sac City. On November 16, 2013, LeRoy and Margaret moved to Forest City. LeRoy became a resident of the Good Samaritan Center in Forest City on January 14, 2015.

In 1970, LeRoy and his friends from his church went to Haiti and the island of Lagonave on a mission trip for three weeks. They built a parsonage for the church on the island. He took along some of his tools and left them for the people of the island. This trip proved very gratifying for him.

LeRoy will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him. His survivors include his wife, Margaret, of Forest City; his son, Jeffrey Lee Nelson; his daughter, Jacqueline Lynn Armstrong, and her husband, Tracy, all of Forest City; three grandchildren, Jennifer Lee Wright, and her husband, Jason, of Solon, Iowa, Peggy Sue Armstrong, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Eric Charles Armstrong, of Forest City; one great-granddaughter, Emmaline Carolee Wright, of Solon, Iowa; his brother, Lester Nelson, of California; and two sisters, Wilma Witte, of Arkansas, and Alma Haden, of Iowa, as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a son, Jerrold (Jerry) LeRoy Nelson; his parents; a brother, Wilbur Nelson, and a sister, Pearl Bossom.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 A.M., Friday, July 7, 2017, at the Forest City United Methodist Church with Pastor Les Green officiating. Upon Leroy’s wishes, his remains were cremated, and there will be no visitation. Burial of cremains will take place in Oakland Cemetery in Sac City, Iowa, at 1:00 P.M., Monday, July 24, 2017. The family will have a reception following graveside services at the First Christian Church in Sac City.

Cataldo Schott Funeral Home, Forest City, Iowa, 2017.