Peter S. Nelson passed away Aug. 21, 2015 at Appleton Medical Center after a brief illness.
Nelson, 80, was a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates and the highest honor within the law school. He served in the U.S. Army before launching a legal career that spanned more than four decades with the Benton, Bosser, Fulton, Menn and Nehs law firm in Appleton. The son of Henry and Meredith Nelson, Pete was born Nov. 25, 1934 in Schenectady, New York and raised in Superior, Wisconsin, where his father was the supervisor of music for the Superior Public Schools. Pete and Chris, his wife of 50 years, raised their family in Appleton before moving to Round Lake on the Chain O’Lakes in Waupaca. Pete loved boating, the outdoors and many friends and was an enthusiastic co-conspirator in travel, socializing and merry-making with Chris, who preceded him in death in 2007.
For several years, Pete and Chris were part-time residents of Boca Grande, Florida. There, Pete enjoyed fishing, hunting for shark teeth and, with his buddy Frank Koffend, dreaming up joyful pirate parties for their grandchildren. Pete was a lover of jazz, especially the work of pioneers such as Louis Armstrong and Charlie Christian. He had a particular fondness for Dixieland and New Orleans jazz. He also shared his father’s deep love of classical music.
Survivors include: son Jim (Laura), daughter Kathryn (Wayne Thompson), sister Meredith Nelson of Mesa, Arizona, and grandchildren, Courtney and Erik Nelson and Peter and Lowell Thompson.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the Waupaca Area Community Foundation or the Waupaca Public Library Foundation.
Visitation will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, followed by a 3 p.m. service at Holly Funeral Home in Waupaca. www.hollyfuneralhome.com