Ronald Eugene NELSON

NELSON, YOKES, RHINER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:06:49

August 19, 1940 ---- April 10, 2018

Ronald Eugene Nelson of Trinidad, California
Born in Goldfield Iowa on August 19, 1940, Ronnie was raised in multiple Iowa towns as well as Nebraska. He moved to California as a young man in 1959. Ronnie met his first and only true love, Mary Jean Yokes, at the Hippodrome Skating Rink in Long Beach, California. After a brief courtship, Ronnie and Mary Jean united in marriage in 1960 at St. Mathews Catholic Church in Long Beach, CA. Their first child, Christine, was born in 1962. Ronnie initially pursued an education in Diesel Mechanics at Long Beach City College and eventually decided to enter the Police Academy, joining the Long Beach Police Department in 1965. Ronnie and Mary Jean had their second and final child, Brad in 1966.

Ronnie’s police career was full of numerous exciting work assignments. He started in the patrol division and worked the Watts Riots in 1965 and also the Rodney King Riots in 1992. Ronnie worked “The Pike”, an amusement zone along the Long Beach shoreline with the US Navy Shore Patrol. He also walked a beat on the nightshift with a partner in parts of Downtown Long Beach known for nefarious activities. This was in the day when there was no handheld radio nor other form of communication back to the station until the patrol officers arrived back at their parked police car, often times several blocks away. Ronnie worked in both Intelligence and Internal Affairs. He was one of the first SWAT officers on the department. Ronnie worked as a Robbery Detective before going into Homicide as a Detective. He returned to Robbery years later as the Sergeant in-charge.

Ronnie was the master of home improvements, before “Do-It-Yourself” was a thing. The Nelson home in Long Beach was the testing ground for Ronnie’s construction abilities. At the Long Beach Home on Jackson Street, Ronnie tore down the much too small 2-car garage and built a new 6-car garage/workshop. After much prodding, Brad and Chris were able to convince him that he should remove the fish pond and waterfalls and install an in-ground spa. The Nelsons and all their friends had many good times at the Jackson Street house.

After Chris and Brad left for college, Ronnie and Mary Jean decided the house in Long Beach was much too small. SO they built an entirely new home in Anaheim Hills. This custom home was just the predecessor to Ronnie and Mary Jean’s retirement dream home. This, of course, is their beautiful home in Trinidad. This 10 acre property allowed Mary Jean to have a home large enough to show off her Victorian antique collection and also give her a serious chef’s kitchen. Ronnie’s shop is home to multiple old tractors and a separate wood-working area. Side note: It was only 2 years ago that Chris discovered his shop had a second floor! This second floor, as most of you know, was entirely filled with stuff and even more stuff. Ronnie was a firm believer that more of anything was better. For example, why have 1 table saw when you can have TWO !!! Throughout his life, Ronnie also honed his skills at collecting fine old rusty things. There is nothing finer than an old rusty something-or-other.

Throughout his life, Ronnie was an avid hunter, fisherman, and camper. There are many stories of trips to Tule Lake and Lodi, where his brother Dave lived. It was during these camping and fishing trips that Ronnie and Mary Jean discovered the quaint fishing village of Trinidad. Through much hard work, they were able to build their retirement dream home in Trinidad.

Ronnie is preceded in death by his parents, Ken and Erma [Rhiner] Nelson, and his brother Dave Nelson. They are all interred at Cherokee Memorial Park here in Lodi. Ronnie is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Mary Jean and children Chris and Brad.

Services -
Funeral Service -- Saturday, April 21, 2018 --11:00 AM, Lodi Funeral Home, 725 South Fairmont Avenue, Lodi, California

Burial to follow at Cherokee Memorial Park