Remembering Our TFC Friend
Ken Nelson, Cromwell, Connecticut
Friday, March 8
When our friends Earl and Arlene told us they were going to the viewing/visitation for our mutual friend Ken Nelson, and asked if we were interested in going along, we immediately knew we wanted to make the almost five-hour trip to Cromwell, Connecticut.
We were getting Jere and Kristen’s five children that evening – for the next week – but Jere said they were okay with their children being alone for a few hours. Josh is eighteen and Jana will soon be fourteen, so they were capable of taking care of their younger brothers between bedtime and 11:30 p.m.
We left Earl and Arlene’s house shortly after 10:30 a.m. and knew by the weather forecast that we were going to get into snow – and began seeing some of the white stuff just before noon.
Half an hour later we got into a wet, sloppy mix of snow and rain.
The good thing is that the temperature stayed above freezing as we traveled north.
As we traveled, we shared some memories of Ken and his wife, Phyllis. Arlene even brought some scrapbooks along from times they spent together.
This is the only photo I found of Ken as I did a quick search of my photo files. I did not have it dated, but think it was from 2002.
This photo was used with his obituary and is probably from fifteen or twenty years ago.
His interesting obituary:
Kenneth A. Nelson, 90, of Covenant Village, Cromwell and formerly of Earl Street, Manchester, beloved husband of Phyllis (Goranson) Nelson for 62 years, died Monday, March 4th at Pilgrim Manor. Born on November 4, 1922, he was the son of the late Per Gustav Nelson and Linnea (Chilberg) Nelson who were both Swedish immigrants and owned and operated a large dairy farm in Ellington.
When his mother decided to purchase a truck and collect milk from local farmers and bring it to Hartford for sale there, she enlisted her sons in this new transportation venture. Because there were many woolen mills in the area, they began to haul wool from the ports of Philadelphia, New York and Boston to the surrounding mills. Linnea ran the new transportation company while her husband tended to the dairy farm. She often took Ken out of grade school to show a new driver how to get to the major cities. [I asked Phyllis about this, because I thought it meant he gave them directions, but it meant that he went along to these cities to show the driver how to get there!]
Eventually, the business grew to approximately 700 employees and covered the whole Northeast region down to Virginia. Ken and his brothers became owners of the company at the death of his mother in 1950. Ken became executive vice president in charge of sales with about 30 salesmen under him retiring in 1982.
Those who knew Ken recognized the hallmark of his deep Christian faith and commitment to sharing the gospel with others. He was a member of Trinity Covenant Church in Manchester for 75 years, joining at age15.
He was the Sunday School Superintendent at the age of 16 and drove a school bus to pick up the children of truck drivers as well as other children in the Manchester area. Among other duties, he served as chairman of the church and chairman of the finance committee that brought the church from its humble beginnings on Spruce Street to its present location on Hackmatack Street.
One of Ken’s passions was a ministry to truck drivers which found an outlet in an organization called Transport for Christ. Operating what they called “mobile chapels” with an ordained chaplain and pews inside a trailer, they traveled to truck stops and terminals bringing the message of salvation through Christ and providing counseling for the drivers.
Ken became the chairman of the board of Transport for Christ and actively supported it until his death.
Along with his wife, Ken is survived by three sons, Douglas, James, and David; a sister, Greta Carlson; 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 9th at 11:00am at Trinity Covenant Church, 302 Hackmatack Street, Manchester. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.
Friends may call on Friday evening from 5:00 to 8:00pm at the Cromwell Funeral Home, 506 Main Street, Cromwell and in lieu of flowers make donations in Ken’s memory to www.transportforChrist.org.
Our timing was perfect, because after a five-hour drive, one short break, and an early evening meal, we arrived at the funeral home about 4:45 p.m. The family was already there, so we had about half an hour to visit with the family before other guests began arriving.
Arlene and Ken’s widow, Phyllis.
We were so impressed with their three sons who shared good memories of their dad, and enjoyed some of our memories.
Keep Phyllis in your prayers. Life is going to be different after being married for sixty-two years.
~~~
My favorite memory of Ken is receiving a phone call from him each December, asking about us and TFC – especially when Cerwin was Northeast Region Director (1990 to 2006).
He continued to call me after TFC leadership wisely chose to remove regional boundaries and assigned regional directors to responsibilities according to their strengths and ministry skills. Ken always wanted to know how our field staff were doing – especially those he and Phyllis supported.
We enjoyed some of the stories Ken and Phyllis’ sons told us.
One remembered that each of the three boys had to sweep the floors at the Nelson Freightways Terminal – and received fifty cents an hour.
Another said, “Dad was interested in God and trucking – and TFC covered both.”
Ken loved to hear stories and reports of people who were saved or rededicated their lives to Christ on the chapels.
~~~
We lost a great prayer warrior.
~~~
We were pleased that the temperature stayed above freezing as we traveled home – even into the evening and nighttime hours.
Earl’s Magellan GPS unit was on daytime mode when we left the funeral home – about 5:30 p.m…
…but an hour later the color changed to the nighttime mode.
We had a delightful trip south, and after lots of visiting and a short break, we got home just after 11:30 p.m. – checked on the five grandchildren who were sound asleep, and gratefully crawled into our comfy bed.
