Person:Richard Nelson (6)

Obituary of Richard Allen Nelson d. 7 Feb 1991

Forest City area farmer, Richard A. Nelson, 53, died last Thursday while apparently attempting to walk across a snow-covered field to the residence of his mother with whom he was making his home. Mr. Nelson was last seen about 6 o'clock Wednesday evening, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff David Peterson. Nelson's vehicle was discovered in a ditch one mile north of Highway 9 on County Road R-74 and a half mile west. His body was found at 5:30 Thursday afternoon in a farm field three­ quarters of a mile from the farm home by a family member. Dr. R. D. Brainerd of Lake Mills, deputy county medical examiner, pronounced Nel­son dead at the scene. An autopsy was scheduled to de­termine the exact cause of death, Peterson said, but Nelson's death is believed to be from natural causes. Funeral services for Mr. Nelson were held Friday at Petersen Funeral Home in Forest City. The Rev. Henry Stolz, pastor of Winnebago Lutheran Church. officiated. Janice Knudtson was organist for the service. Casket bearers were Michael Eppel, Rick Juhl, Jeff Nelson, Jack Funkhouser, Bob Litchy, Gary Prlnsen and John Sulter. Bur­ial was in Winnebago Lutheran Cemetery in rural Lake Mills. Richard A. Nelson, the son of Russell A. and Ruth V. Larson Nel­son, was born Oct. 8, 1937 in Forest City. He was baptized and confirmed at Winnebago Lutheran Church, at­ tended a rural school near his home, graduated from Forest City High School in 1955 and from Iowa State University in Ames in 1959. Nov. 23, 1958, he married Debra Coe in Ames. After graduation, he taught agriculture classes at Postville, after teaching for four years, he accepted a position selling agricultural products for Allied Chemical Co. in Oelwein. In 1966, he moved to Petersburg, Ill., where he was employed by Mapco, Inc. In 1985, he formed his own company, MarAg, a fertilizer broker­ age firm. In June, 1990, he came to Forest City to live with his mother and brother on the family farm. Nelson was a member of a Shrlners Temple in Illinois and participated in the Shrlners Motorcycle Drill Team. Survivors include his wife, Debra of Rogersville, MO; a daughter and her husband, Linda and Jack Funkhouser of Rogersville, Mo.; a son, Keith Nelson of Springfield, Ill; three grandchildren, Brandon, Collin and Aaron Funkhouser; his mother, Ruth Nelson of Forest City; a sister, Mrs. John (Marilyn) Ostlund of Burnsville, Minn.; two brothers, Duane and Valere Nelson, both of Forest City, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Russell Nelson, who died in 1987 and a grand-niece, Atty Nel­son.

Richard A. Nelson 1959

1. ↑ Debra Ann “Debbie” Coe Nelson, in Find A Grave.

   his wife's obituary
   SS #484-48-2784 from funeral home death information

2.   Census:
   
   1940: Mount Valley, Winnebago, Iowa
3.   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/201137283/richard-a-nelson