Retired Marine was avid sailor and outdoorsman
Published in the November 2, 2017 edition
SCHENECTADY, New York — Dennis Mark Nelson (MSgt – USMC, Ret.), 62, of Schenectady, New York. Born August 27, 1955 in Schenectady, New York, he was the son of Richard C. Nelson and the late Janet C. (Dare) Nelson.
Dennis grew up in Orlando, Florida, and joined the Marine Corps in 1978. After training as an electrician, he trained as a navigator and served with a C-130 Refueler Squadron in Okinawa and the United States. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1998 at MCAS Cherry Point in North Carolina, and he and his family moved to Swanville, Maine in 2009.
Dennis was an avid sailor and loved the outdoors. He and his family (and their dogs) loved hiking, camping, kayaking, snowshoeing, spending time at the beach and traveling. He joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2012, eventually serving as flotilla commander in Belfast, Maine. At home on their small farm he enjoyed his vegetable gardens and his chickens and also enjoyed baking bread, brewing beer and carving wooden spoons.
The beloved husband of Karen (Mahoney) Nelson, formerly of North Reading, he is also survived by his son, Alexander C. Nelson of Raleigh, North Carolina; daughter, Donya J. Nelson and daughter-in-law Jessi Nelson of Yelm, Washington; stepson, Jonathan B. Crane of Manchester, New Hampshire; his father, Richard C. Nelson and his partner, Peggy Wilson, of Tucson, Arizona; his sisters, June M. Sneider of Clear Lake Shores, Texas and Katherine D. Nelson of Altamonte Springs, Florida; and extended family.
A memorial service will be held at Riverside Cemetery, Elm Street (Rte. 62), North Reading on Friday, November 3, at 11 a.m. Following the service, there will be a lunch to celebrate Dennis’s life at the VFW Post 2104, 32 Park St., North Andover. All are welcome.
His family is very grateful for the outstanding care he received from Dr. David Reardon, Jennifer Stefanik, N.P., and Sandra Ruland, R.N., at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and Dr. M. Aziz-Sultan at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Please consider making donations in Dennis’s memory to the Neuro-Oncology Fund, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Brookline Pl., 6th Fl., Brookline, MA 02445; or to an organization Dennis truly admired and would have liked to have been a part of: Pilots N Paws, 200 West Main Street, Middletown, MD 21769. Arrangements are in the care of the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. www.croswellfuneralhome.com.
