JON NELSON Obituary

JON NELSON
Kind & gentle, adventurous & silly, compassionate & open minded, brilliant & curious, generous & loving, incredibly stubborn and a strong advocate who believed in the genuine goodness of people. Jon Nelson passed away peacefully at home with his family on October 28th, 2023 at the age of 80. He was born to Lenore (Thoe) and Selmer Nelson on May 14th, 1943 in Duluth, Minnesota. He grew up in the rural farming community of Montevideo, Minnesota, and described his upbringing as idyllic and typical of 1950's midwestern American life.

He went on to study at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and completed a MSc in Biochemistry from George Washington University and later an M.A. in Anthropology and Archeology from Trent University. His intellectual curiosity and interest in the natural world led him early in his career to teach at an all-girls Catholic high school in California, where he relished the novelty of this experience as a pale, blonde, skinny midwestern boy teaching biology to mostly Hispanic and African American girls in suburban Los Angeles. He married the love of his life Marie Pelkola from Winton, MN in 1972 and they immigrated to the north woods near Atikokan in the summer of 1973. Together they built a cabin on Nydia lake, owned and operated a resort, and later worked as Park Rangers in Quetico Provincial Park where they started their family. Quetico and the Boundary Waters became like a second home for Jon where he would go on numerous adventures with family and friends, do archaeological research and write extensively for several publications culminating in an incredible book "Quetico: Near to Nature's Heart".

He taught for many years in the Native Studies program at Confederation College where his dedication to his students and unique sense of humour made him a well respected and admired teacher and colleague. He loved his many friends and together with his wife Marie they created a home where the door was always open and all were welcome at the table. They loved boarding cross-country skiers and it was not unusual to wake up and find a friend or student asleep on the couch who was in need of a safe and warm home.

His love of photography came through in his beautiful landscapes and nature photography and once his grandkids were born, he came to love taking pictures of people too! Here are some of his photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/128522628@N06/. He was very active in the cross country skiing and regional archaeological communities, was a founding and long time member of the Friends of Quetico and volunteered at the Dew Drop Inn and with the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists.

His soul mate Marie passed away in 2013 and her spirit has lived on in him and their family. He is survived by son Leif Nelson (Heather), daughter Anna Nelson (James McMahon), four beloved grandchildren (Maren, Luke, Penny and Karine), brother Gene (Ginny), sister Carol (Steve) and many other loved family members and friends.

A celebration of life will be held at Lappe Ski Centre on Wednesday November 1st at 5:00pm. In lieu of flowers, share a meal with a friend and look around the world with awe- just as Jon would do. Memorials are preferred to the Dew Drop Inn or the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Condolences may be made through www.nwfainc.com