Richard Nelson Obituary

Richard Kent Nelson, 68, passed away suddenly at his home on March 5, 2008. "Lion" as he was affectionately known to many, was the first born of two boys to Art and Bernice Nelson of Geneva. As a young boy Lion attended the 6th Street Elementary School in Geneva. He also attended St Mark's Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church of Geneva. Lion went on to attend both Northwestern Military Academy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Geneva Community High School. His hobby during his high school years was fixing and racing cars. He spent many hours racing cars at the Oswego Drag Strip. After graduating from Geneva Community High School with the class of 1958, Lion pursued a career at Western Electric in West Chicago. After several years, Lion received a transfer to Redondo Beach, California where he continued to work for Western Electric. It was here that he first grew his trademark beard and received the nickname "Lion" in honor of his wooly mane. Feeling like a caged lion, as he put it, he eventually escaped the factory atmosphere at Western Electric to begin his own landscaping business entitled "Lion's Gardening." Perhaps inspired by his father's love for operating and managing a business, this allowed Lion to indulge in two of his favorite pastimes: enjoying the California sun and pursuing his love of growing and caring for plants. Lion had an extensive array of interests besides gardening, and through joining several organizations, he was able to expand on these interests and share them with others. WACCO (the Western Association of Crazy Chicagoans and Others) allowed Lion to share his undying love of his favorite team, the Chicago Cubs, with many others from his home state. The "Rough Wheelers" club gave Lion a chance to explore the natural landscape and to pursue his interest in four-wheeling. Recently, Lion joined a club to explore his most passionate interest, photography. As many know, this was something Lion was particularly talented at, and he has left behind many photos for all to remember him by. Lion was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his brother Gregg (Joy) Nelson, his two nephews Tim and Tom Nelson, and his two nieces, Jamie (Rick) Razum and Kristina (Brad) Wendell. A memorial service will be held on Saturday March 15 from 2-5:00pm at Las Brisas Restaurant in Laguna Beach, California. Interment to be held at Oak Hill Cemetery in Geneva upon return of the family. Memorials may be sent to the San Diego Zoo at Attention Memorial Gifts, P.O. Box 12051, San Diego, CA 92112 or Geneva History Center, 113 South 3rd Street, Geneva, Illinois 60134