John Arthur Nelson

FREEPORT. John A. Nelson (Jack), 87, of Freeport died on December 31, 2017, after a long battle with multiple myeloma and mesothelioma. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 3, 1930, son of Carl O. Nelson and Dorothy (Luttrell) Nelson. As a youth he lived in the Hotel Lincolnshire, managed by his father. His parents sent him to an after-school camp, St. Pierre School for Sports, in Dedham, so he could experience life outside the city. He spent many early summers on Cape Cod, and eventually taught sailing in Wychmere Harbor, in Harwich Port, Massachusetts.

He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1948, and from Georgetown University in 1952. He then served his country in the Korean War as first lieutenant in the Air Force. Almost his entire working career was spent with Johns-Manville Corporation. His most interesting work was in the Aerospace Products Division, during the time when the company was part of the quest to land a man on the moon. He met his future wife in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Katharine Hale Dana became his crew, racing one-design sailboats in Marblehead waters. They married in Barrington, Rhode Island in 1968. They lived in Lexington, then Harvard, Massachusetts, and moved to Madison, Connecticut in 1976. With their young family, they enjoyed many sailing and skiing vacations, often with friends and their families. In those early years, he played golf, tennis, and paddle tennis. He helped start a fleet of J 22s at the Madison Beach Club.

Jack retired from Johns-Manville in 1989, and he and Kathie moved to Freeport, Maine. He worked for the Veterans Administration, volunteered with Portland SCORE, and the Freeport Historical Society. He interviewed applicants to Georgetown University from southern Maine. He was a long-term member of the Board of Directors for J. B. Brown and Sons and the Fore River Company. During the summers he and Kathie spent as much time as possible on their sailboat, Penhallow, sailing the waters between Cape Cod, Mass. to Rogue Island in Maine. He and Kathie were partial to skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain for week long vacations with their daughters, and with other friends. Jack was an avid reader, particularly American and European history. He loved to listen to classical music and jazz. Eventually there was plenty of time for travel, and they made many wonderful trips abroad.

Besides his wife, he is survived by their two daughters; Sarah Nelson Modine, of Boston, Massachusetts, and her husband, Kent Allen Modine, and Ann Dana Nelson of Swampscott, Massachusetts. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, and grand nieces and nephews, and many sisters- and brothers-in-law, many of whom live in the Portland area. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his nephew Peter Franklin Rose and his only sibling, a younger sister, Lee Nelson Rose Tichnor.

There will be a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Church, 336 Maine Street, Yarmouth, Maine on Friday, January 12, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.

If you would like to make a donation in his name, please make it to the American Cancer Society.

Website: https://www.cancer.org/involved/

Mailing Address: PO Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123

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