Howard Peter Nelson, died on June 8, 2007 in Little River, South Carolina, where he had lived for more than two years at Summit Place, a senior community. Mr. Nelson was born in Chicago in 1908 to Hans Peter Nelson and Hanna Bostrom Nelson, both of whom had emigrated from Sweden. His father was a piano manufacturer, having been a partner in the Cable Nelson Piano Company and founder of the H. P. Nelson Piano Company of Chicago. Mr. Nelson attended Francis Parker School in Chicago and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He was a lifelong member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He had been an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Athletics were a major interest throughout Mr. Nelson’s life. He once played briefly on the Chicago White Sox try-out team and was an avid golfer. Mr. Nelson lived in North Carolina for almost fifty years before moving to Little River. In Charlotte, he had retired from Central Motor Lines, a trucking company, where he had been vice president of sales and traffic. Mr. Nelson was a participant and leader in the National Motor Transportation industry. Before coming to Charlotte, Mr. Nelson and his family had lived in Oak Park, Illinois. Mr. Nelson was preceded in death by his beloved wife of sixty-four years, Mearna Sheley Nelson. His sister, Lillian Nelson Birk, of whom he had been deeply fond and who had held a special place in his life from the day he was born, had died some years ago, as had his older brother, Gerhardt A. Nelson. The fourth Nelson child, a baby girl, had been the first-born and died in infancy. Surviving family members are his daughter, Nancy Nelson Kirkner of Little River, SC and his son, Phillip Nelson of Cincinnati,OH. Mr. Nelson’s son-in-law, Curtis Bane Kirkner, died earlier this year. Funeral arrangements will be private.
