Dr. Albin Joyce NELSON

NELSON, WOOLEVER, SCHREIBER, CABALLERO, FERTIK, SHAFER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 10/6/2006 at 18:39:21

Dr. Albin Joyce (Doc) Nelson, 84, formerly of Nashua, passed away from Alzheimer's disease April 30, 2004 at Bethel Center in Marshfield, Wis. where he had resided since July, 2003. A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m., July 17, 2004, at the Chickasaw County Twin Ponds Nature Center, 5 1/2 miles east of Nashua on Highway 346, three miles north on Hickory Avenue. Interment of his ashes will be earlier that day, at 9 a.m. at Norway Township Cemetery near Goldfield, Iowa.

Albin, the oldest of five children, was born July 14, 1919 on the family farm near Goldfield, to Tillie and Albin Nelson. Al was united in marriage to Virginia Woolever at his parents' farm on March 20, 1942. She was his loving and constant companion throughout their 62 years of marriage. As a child, he shared a special bond with his dad who inspired in him a lifelong love of baseball and fishing, and he spent countless Iowa winter nights by his mother's corncob stove teaching himself to play the guitar. He graduated valedictorian of his Goldfield High School class in 1938. He attended Luther College in Decorah for one year before being accepted to the Veterinary Medical College at Iowa State University and graduated with a D.V.M. in 1943. In 1945, after practicing veterinary medicine for a short time in Gravity and Iowa Falls, Al and Virginia were enchanted with the natural beauty of the Nashua area and so purchased Dr. Roach's veterinary practice. Al retired from his vet practice in 1981. Al was an active community member during his lifetime in Nashua. He served on governing boards of many organizations, including the Nashua school board, the Boy Scouts of America, Masonic Lodge, Lions Club, and the Boat Club. In his free time, he enjoyed a variety of hobbies including hunting, fishing, fly-tying, playing and watching baseball, piloting, photography, reading and painting (even though he was colorblind). He was an accomplished whistler, singer and guitarist, never missing an opportunity to perform. Al was fortunate to experience the world through travel with Virginia. They traveled throughout the continental U.S. (including Alaska), to Canada, Norway, and to Africa (his dream trip celebrating his 70th birthday). Many of the trips involved hunting and yielding not only stories, but wonderful trophies which were displayed at his home in Nashua. As a lifelong conservationist, Al was active in both the Chickasaw County and the State of Iowa Conservation boards. His pet project was the Twin Ponds Nature Center near Nashua. In addition, a wildlife area near Howards Woods was dedicated to the Nelson Wildlife Area by the Chickasaw County Conservation Board in honor of his dedication to preserving nature for future generations. He also dedicated half of his farm to wildlife areas. His greatest enjoyment was walking these woods with Virginia, seeing the wildflowers and communing with nature. To quote the Iowa Conservationist magazine from June, 1986, "... he does more than talk about his environment, he improves it." Al was a passionate, honest, sincere and loving man. Above all, he loved his family and will be greatly missed by them.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia, of Marshfield, Wis., and his children: a son, A. James (Susan) Nelson of Orono, Minn., and their children, Shane Nelson and Aaron (Angela) Nelson, and their children, Aiden and Olivia; a daughter, Linda Nelson-Schreiber (Donald Schreiber) of Marshfield, and their children, Nathan, Nick, and Liana Schreiber; another son, Richard (Rita) Nelson of Bettendorf, and their children, Andrew, Meredith and Adrienne Nelson; and an AFS son, Ramon Alberto Caballero (Rita) of San Juan, Argentina. He is further survived by two sisters, LouCelle Fertik of Miami, Fla., and Carol (Robert) Shafer of Mahnomen, Minn., and a brother, Orin (Marge) Nelson of Aurelia, Iowa; five sisters-in-law, three brothers-in-law, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, Robert, one brother-in-law and one sister-in-law. Memorials may be given in Al's name to the Friends of Chickasaw County Conservation at Twin Ponds, 1811 240th St., Ionia, Iowa, 50645.

Charles City Press [IA]
7/15/2004