He was buried with military honors by V.F.W. Post 6060 in the Veterans Section of West Lawn Memorial Park Cemetary.
He was a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. and was retired from the New York Telephone Co, as a traffic engineer.
He was a member of the Christ Episcopal Church and was a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, achieving a rank of captain.
He was the husband of Gladys Jacobsen Nelson and son of the late Nils Reinert and Martha Sorenson Nelson.
Mr. Nelson is survived by a daughter, Elaine Bréa of Queens, N.Y.; a son, Russell Neil Nelson of Potsdam, N.Y.; and four grandchildren.