Roland Carl Nelson was born on August 7, 1947, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, to Walter and Mildred (Shipp) Nelson. He was baptized on October 26, 1947, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cokato and was confirmed at Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson.
Roland graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1965 and continued his education at Dunwoody Institute. He enjoyed a 35-year career as a draftsman at Goebel Fixture Company in Hutchinson.
Roland was a man of many interests, including bicycling, cross country skiing with his niece, playing tennis and ping pong, baseball, listening to blue grass music, collecting coins and postcards, and bee keeping. Friends often referred to him as “The Old Bee,” coined from the bee keeping and wonderful honey he has provided for over 30 years. He cherished many memories from traveling and backpacking with friends to searching for collectibles and memorabilia at flea markets and auctions. Many of his greatest memories were from the adventures he would go on with friends or family to pick blue berries, find something at his pole shed, attend a music show, go to a decoy or coin show, or just sitting around talking. Roland was also a talented sketch artist and has created numerous pencil sketches, including a Presidential sketch housed at the McLeod County Museum. His talents extended into his love of carpentry, which he used to build many cabinets and furniture pieces for himself and others. Roland was always willing to share his talents and often helped his nephew and others with various projects.
Roland’s battle with cancer ended on Friday, January 27, 2012. He will be remembered for his genuine personality and witty sense of humor. Blessed be his memory.
He is survived by his sisters Ruth (Dean) Needham of Conroe, Texas; Louise
(Dennis) Schroeder of Hutchinson, Minnesota; niece, Denise (Monte) Einck; nephew, Kyle (Laurie) Schroeder; great-nieces and nephew, Allison, Makenna, and Maxten Einck all of Hutchinson, Minnesota.
He is preceded in death by his parents Walter and Mildred Nelson.
Funeral Service: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 1:00 pm at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cokato.
Visitation 2 hours prior to the service at church.
Internment to follow the service at the Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery.