Richard "Dick" Nelson

Richard A. Nelson was born on May 6, 1930 in Minneapolis, MN to Norris and Agnes (Anderson) Nelson. The family moved to Alexandria, MN shortly after he was born. He spent his childhood in Alexandria, and at the age of 19, he joined the Army and served in the Korean War. After returning from the War, he was united in marriage to Kay Olson, in Evansville, MN on June 26, 1954. To this union they were blessed with one son and one daughter. Kay passed away in 1986. Dick married Ardell Callaghan on April 11, 1994 in Branson, MO. In the early days, Dick and Kay resided in Alexandria and opened a business, Dick’s Electric Motor Service. The shop became a local gathering spot where friends would come by just to visit and smoke a cigar. Dick was an active member with the Alexandria Volunteer Fire Department. He served for 24 years and was chief for four of those years. He also served on several state Fire committees. He was passionate about the fire service and inspired others to serve as well. At one point, Dick’s son Rick, his son-in-law, Tom Olson, two of his nephews, Mike Thompson and Steve Thompson, and his stepson, Steve Callaghan, all served on various Fire Departments across the state of Minnesota. After selling his electric motor business, Dick became Alexandria’s first city Fire Marshall. He was the city Fire Marshall for ten years. Motorcycle riding was a lifetime enjoyment for Dick. On Saturday mornings, he and his brothers and friends would go on a “breakfast run”. They must have had breakfast in most of the towns in central Minnesota. Another favorite hobby of Dick’s was his woodworking. He converted his garage into a woodworking shop and the car sat outside. Many friends and relatives have been fortunate to be gifted with his work. Although Dick was a perfectionist and made many beautiful items of wood, he always claimed he only made sawdust. Dick and Ardell enjoyed traveling to the South during the winters in their motorhome and eventually settled in Donna, Texas, in a seasonal retirement community where they have many friends. Summers though, were always spent at their home in Alexandria close to their children and grandchildren. Dick loved all his children and grandchildren, and was recently blessed with great-grandchildren. He passed away January 10, 2016, McAllen, TX from Alzheimer's, at the age of 85. Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Norris and Agnes, his first wife Kay Nelson, brother David W. Nelson, grandson Patrick Callaghan, and daughter Kim Callaghan. Dick is survived by his loving wife, Ardell; son Rick (Janell) Nelson of Bloomington and daughter Joni (Tom) Olson of St. Cloud; grandchildren Danae and Hannah Nelson and Zak and Kasey Olson(Jack Iten), and great grandson Mason Iten; brother Al (Bev) Nelson of Alexandria; sister, Marlene (Tom) Thompson of Alexandria; sister-in-law Ruth Nelson; sons, Steve(Kim) Callaghan, and Jeff(Deb) Callaghan, all of Alexandria, granddaughter, Lisa (Mike Weiskopf) of Minneapolis and grandson, Jake Callaghan, and great granddaughter Ashlyn Weiskopf, and many nephews, nieces and cousins.

Richard "Dick" Nelson

May 6, 1930 - January 10, 2016