Howard I. Nelson, 80.

WORCESTER Howard I. Nelson, 80, passed away after a long illness Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, in Knollwood Nursing Center at the Briarwood Community, surrounded by his loving family.

He leaves his wife of nearly 57 years, Meredyth L. (Knox) Nelson; two sons, Jonathan P. Nelson and his wife Melissa of Oxford and Matthew W. Nelson and his wife Lisa of Grafton, who reside in the house Howard built. He also leaves his brother, Donald R. Nelson and his wife Judith C. of Worcester; 4 grandchildren, Shawn S. Nelson, Samantha E. Nelson, Aimee E. Nelson, and Luke B. Nelson; 3 nieces; and 2 nephews.

Howard was born in Worcester in 1931 and raised in Millbury, son of Iver A. and Hulda V. (Anderson) Nelson. He was a graduate of Millbury High and WPI - Class of 1954 and member of Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity. As a youth, Howard was an active auto mechanic at Jones Garage in Millbury. He was Chief Engineer at Crompton & Knowles, Product Manager at Jamesbury, and Director of Engineering at Nissan Textiles International in Charlotte, NC, retiring in 1999. He attended the Advanced Study program at the University of NC, Charlotte, and earned 3 master's degrees at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

His hobbies included gardening; carpentry; education; and extensive world travel - especially Czechoslovakia, Japan, Switzerland, and Romania. He remained active in WPI...