Douglas "Dick" Marshall Nelson

Douglas (“Dick”) Marshall Nelson, age 74, was born on August 12, 1944, in Brainerd, MN. He died surrounded by his loving family on May 8, 2019, from complications related to metastatic prostate cancer. He was the eighth child out of nine born to John A. and Veronica “Fronie” V. Nelson. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Crosby, MN.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers Robert and Merlin; sisters-in-law Janet Nelson and Janice Nelson; brother-in-law Louis Schemmel; nieces Mary Alice Schemmel, Kari Glauvitz and Diane Mayer; nephews Randy Nelson, Jon Klasse, Ryan Mayer, Stephen Mayer, and Jaime Nelson.

Doug is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, Marilyn; children Beth Nelson Sather (Tom) and Paul Nelson; grandchildren Olivia Sather, Daniel Sather and Jacob Nelson; brothers Gerald, James, Wayne (Mary Ann), and Bruce (Linda); sisters Veronica Schemmel and Scena Proodian (Ronnie); brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Roger and Sharon Klasse and James and Peggy Klasse; and countless nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Doug was known to all of his relatives and the Crosby-Ironton community as “Dick”. He attended elementary school in Ironton, MN and graduated from Crosby-Ironton High School in 1962. He worked at Carl’s Market in St. Cloud throughout college and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from St. Cloud State College in 1967.

Dick started his first job at the age of 14 at SuperValu in Crosby, and he continued working there until he graduated from high school. He started his professional career as a Certified Public Accountant at Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery (now Coopers & Lybrand) in 1967 and then went on to be the Chief Financial Officer at The Satterlee Company and later at Acrometal Products. He and his friend and fellow accountant, Larry Waller, purchased Brin Northwestern Glass Company in 1978, and Doug officially retired as Brin's CEO in June 2018 at the age of 73. Under his forty years of leadership, Brin grew and expanded to include other companies in Duluth, St. Cloud, Rochester, Brainerd, LaCrosse, Moose Lake, and Eau Claire. Doug felt strongly that his business success was in large part due to his supportive wife and his wonderful employees and business partners. Doug continued going to his office until the last 6 months of his life when his cancer became debilitating. Although Dick loved working, he was never a workaholic. He had a gift for keeping balance in his life, and he was a loving and supportive husband.

As a father and grandfather, Dick was involved, affectionate, caring and fun. He enjoyed teaching new skills and relished playing and doing activities with his family. Dick’s eight brothers and sisters were his number one lifelong best friends. He loved being with them, whether they were working, playing or swapping childhood memories. He was also very close to many of his nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins. His friends and neighbors were important to him, and he remained close to his childhood employer, Chuck Kraemer, establishing a college scholarship for Crosby-Ironton graduates in Chuck's memory.

He enjoyed many activities including weekly racquetball with his dear friend Dave Hutton, swimming, water-skiing, downhill skiing, playing cards, completing projects in his workshop, yard work, driving his 1929 Studebaker, his antique Garwood boat, and being outdoors. And we must not forget that he was often seen with a cigar in his mouth!

Doug earned the respect, admiration and friendship of many people in the business community. Doug was fair and honest and embraced all the challenges of being a business owner and manager of employees. He was a very generous person and was always willing to share his time, expertise and resources with family, friends, and employees.

Doug was an outgoing person and he engaged in conversation wherever he was. He loved a big party and was known as a great dancer, especially with his wife, who he met on the dance floor. He lived life to the fullest and had a gift for connecting with people of all ages and all walks of life.

He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Blessed be his memory.

Memorials preferred to Prostate Cancer Research Program with Dr. Edwin Posadas at Cedars-Sinai. Cedars-Sinai Gift Administration, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Suite 2416, Los Angeles, CA 90048-0750. https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/Research/Research-Labs/Posadas-Lab/#.XNZHl7uVvro.mailto