James K. Nelson ’51 died on August 14, 2017, in Oak Island, North Carolina.

(The following was published online at stateportpilot.com, August 17, 2017:)

James Kellogg Nelson, love of Muriel Maxwell Nelson’s life, left her side but not her heart on Monday, August 14, 2017. His children, Maren Nelson (Bill Hollingsworth), Mark (Ellen) Nelson, Jill (Bruce) Steiner and Scott (Lynn) Nelson and his grandchildren (Tyler, Will, Marie, Tom, Casey, Arthur, James and Nathanial) were blessed by the love and example he set.

His love of the water, of creating, meeting challenges and encouraging others to do the same, will be some of the stories told, as he loved a good story. He had stories and pictures from all his world travels. His photo albums and slides are family treasures. Whether he landed in Ohio (Columbus), Illinois (Des Plaines, Effingham, Marion, Kankakee), Ringgold, Georgia, Queretaro, Mexico, Oak Island or Liberty, Maine, he was involved in servant leadership. He was a life-long learner and teacher, always inviting and welcoming others to get outside and enjoy life, including being active in scouting for many years, earning him the Boy Scouts of America Honorary Eagle Mentor designation.

He was born to J. Richards Nelson and Margaret Kellogg Nelson in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on February 10, 1929. A graduate of New Hampton Prep (’47), Bowdoin College (’51), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (’53) and Ohio State University (’60), he was an engineer by trade, as well as an avid swimmer, photographer, sailor and wilderness canoeist.