Acton's Eliot Nelson: Korean War Vet, Raytheon Worker Dies at 83

The following obituary is from Acton Funeral Home:

Eliot Daniel Nelson, 83, of Acton, died Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington. He was happily married for 62 years to the day to his beloved wife, Joan E. (Christiansen) Nelson.

Born in Mattapan, he was one of three sons of the late Ralph B. Nelson, Sr. and the late Helga A. (Johnsen) Nelson. The family moved to Norway when the boys were young, where they lived and attended school for 13 years before moving to Concord. Mr. Nelson served honorably in the US Army during the Korean War. A mechanical engineer, he was employed by Raytheon for 35 years before retiring. He especially enjoyed retirement summers in Bridgton, Maine and loved time spent with family and friends on his pontoon “party” boat.

He was the father of 4 children and grandfather of 12: Eliot D. Nelson, Jr., his wife Janet, and their children Audrey and Robyn Nelson, all of Pepperell; Deborah Jean Lane of NC, and her children, Heather Rudkowski of NC, Diane Linton, Gina Colosi and Tyler Colosi, all of Pepperell; the late Mark Bradford Nelson who died in 2004, and his children Erica Longley of CT, Brad Nelson of Otis, MA, Amy Nelson of CT, and Zachary Nelson of Tyngsboro; and Jeffrey Nelson, wife Marina, and their daughters Samantha and Kristina Nelson all of Acton. He was also survived by 16 great-grandchildren and a large extended family. Mr. Nelson was predeceased this past year by his two brothers, Ralph B. Nelson, Jr. and Stanley E. Nelson.

Family and friends are invited to visiting hours on Sunday, August 17th from 4:00-8:00pm at the Acton Funeral Home, 470 Massachusetts Ave (Rte 111) Acton. The funeral service will be held Monday, August 18th at 1:00pm at the funeral home with Rev. Barbara Aiello officiating. Interment will be at a later date. In memory of her grandfather, Audrey Nelson will be leading a team for the Alzheimer’s Association “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” in Andover on Sept. 21, 2014. Those who wish may donate in memory of Mr. Nelson by visiting www.alz.org, scroll and click on “donate to a walker,” then search for “Audrey Nelson” or the team, “Memory Marchers” under the Andover walk.

Photo credit: Acton Funeral Home