Charles Nelson

Charles Alfred “Chuck” Nelson, son of Emily K. Svien Nelson and Alfred S. Nelson, was born on March 4, 1942 in Windom, MN, and passed from this Earth on September 19, 2019 in Lake Elmo, MN.

The descendant of immigrants, Chuck’s grandfather was born in Denmark and came to the United States in 1872. He established a homestead and eventually grew it to a successful 720-acre farm. Chuck’s early years were spent living in the home his grandparents built and working on the family farm. He was baptized and confirmed in the Trinity Lutheran Church of Westbrook, MN. He graduated from Westbrook High School in 1960. He attended Mankato State College from 1960-1963, while serving in the Naval Reserve. In June, 1963, he went on active duty. He was stationed at Charleston, SC, aboard an oceangoing minesweeper, the USS Salute (MSO 470), as a radarman. He cruised the Mediterranean and Caribbean off the coast of Cuba as part of the missile blockade. After two years in the Navy, he returned to Westbrook, managed the family farm, and completed his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota (UM) in 1969. After his brother Peter died in 1970, Chuck inherited his airplane, earned his own private pilot’s license, and flew for recreation. He graduated with a Master’s of Science in Forestry with an emphasis in Remote Sensing and Statistics in 1971.

Throughout his professional career, he made many important contributions to Earth science. He completed his Master’s thesis in the Cloquet Experimental Forest using aerial photos to understand forest health. After he completed his M.S., he married and moved to Houston, TX, where he worked at the Johnson Space Center and participated in developing techniques for airborne and satellite remote sensing. This was the beginning of the Landsat program. He continued this work at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD, as a data analyst/scientist; the Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, CA, as a senior engineer and earth scientist; at Electromagnetic Systems Laboratories in Sunnyvale, CA, as a program manager; the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Lakewood, CO, as a trainer in Geographic Information Systems; and again with EROS in Sioux Falls, where he completed his career as a senior topographic scientist. He was innovative and always stayed up to date with current technology. His teaching and training reached thousands of scientists, resource managers, cartographers, and others interested in land management.

He was the proud father of three children, Nichi, Peder, and Ben, and the even prouder grandfather of two grandsons, Chris and Mike. He taught them many things, including the importance of honesty, integrity, humility, and hard work. He also instilled a love of nature in his children and grandchildren, teaching them how to identify trees and plants, along with cross-country skiing, camping, and other outdoor skills. He was always up for an adventure, learning something new, and approached life with curiosity. He delighted in teaching others, and had a natural ability to break down complex processes into simpler steps. His family remembers him drinking Folgers freeze-dried coffee at any hour of the day, eating nuts, and enjoying rhubarb pies and cakes.

His faith in God was unwavering. As a lifelong Lutheran, his family and friends fondly recall him taking notes on the sermons each week. He took his spiritual lessons to heart and led by example, always staying true to his moral code.

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Peter (d. 1970), Robert “Butch” (d. 1975). He is survived by his daughter Nichole Christine Miller, her husband Stephen Miller, and grandsons Christopher and Michael Miller, of Lake Elmo, MN. He is also survived by two sons, Peder Vernon Nelson and wife Angela Spencer of Portland, OR; and Charles Benjamin “Ben” Nelson and wife Rachel Nelson of Loveland, CO. Along with his children and grandchildren, he is survived by sisters Imogene and Barbara, and brother Howard. He also leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews. He will long be remembered by his family and the many people whose lives he touched over the years.

High Flight

By John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —

And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.