I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate men alive. I am not rich, I am not famous,
and I am not the best looking blue ribbon prize winner on the farm; however, I do have the unique privilege and honor to be
one of the sons of one of the finest men God ever graced the earth with.
Douglas Leigh Nelson Sr was the youngest son of Victor & Freda Nelson. He spent his childhood in the vast freedom and toil of the Post WWII South Dakota family farm. As a youth he had great role models, growing up with the knowledge of uncles who died in combat in far away Europe and Asia as well as other close family relatives who made it back from the great war alive to tell of the great sacrifices America had made for the rest of the world.
Fresh out of high school he followed in the custom of the family, and the paths of his elder brother Richard "Dick" Nelson and brother-in-law George Herrold, by enlisting in the army. Serving his tour from 1959-1963 in far away Berlin Germany, the lusted after capital that was always under the threat of Russian aggression. Arriving back home with his liberal German bride, he did what every babe of the soil wishes to do. He tried to farm. As Grandpa Nelson would tell him after two terrible years of drought one year and hail the next..."the Good Lord has other plans for you son...take a look at this advertisement" which was the beginning of his career as a trooper.
32 1/2 years of patrolling the South Dakota back roads, farming, and the years of stress and burning the candle at both ends finally caught up with him 2 years after retiring...
He no longer patrols those long country roads, or farms that blessed South Dakota soil. But the impact he made as a man withstands even the harshest sands of time. He will forever be my hero, that beacon of light in a dark world, that calm voice of reason in an unreasonable world, the rock of faith that God is Good and that we have an obligation as men to serve and protect our fellow man.
A more humble, honest, and forthright man this world will never see again.
Thank you for giving me the honor of being your son, I will always love and miss you to the day I die...
Douglas Leigh Nelson Sr was the youngest son of Victor & Freda Nelson. He spent his childhood in the vast freedom and toil of the Post WWII South Dakota family farm. As a youth he had great role models, growing up with the knowledge of uncles who died in combat in far away Europe and Asia as well as other close family relatives who made it back from the great war alive to tell of the great sacrifices America had made for the rest of the world.
Fresh out of high school he followed in the custom of the family, and the paths of his elder brother Richard "Dick" Nelson and brother-in-law George Herrold, by enlisting in the army. Serving his tour from 1959-1963 in far away Berlin Germany, the lusted after capital that was always under the threat of Russian aggression. Arriving back home with his liberal German bride, he did what every babe of the soil wishes to do. He tried to farm. As Grandpa Nelson would tell him after two terrible years of drought one year and hail the next..."the Good Lord has other plans for you son...take a look at this advertisement" which was the beginning of his career as a trooper.
32 1/2 years of patrolling the South Dakota back roads, farming, and the years of stress and burning the candle at both ends finally caught up with him 2 years after retiring...
He no longer patrols those long country roads, or farms that blessed South Dakota soil. But the impact he made as a man withstands even the harshest sands of time. He will forever be my hero, that beacon of light in a dark world, that calm voice of reason in an unreasonable world, the rock of faith that God is Good and that we have an obligation as men to serve and protect our fellow man.
A more humble, honest, and forthright man this world will never see again.
Thank you for giving me the honor of being your son, I will always love and miss you to the day I die...
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