Harold Samuel Nelson

Harold Samuel Nelson, a philanthropist and dairy-industry innovator who played a major role in the eradication of the screwworm in the Western hemisphere, died Monday at his home in San Antonio. He was 87.

Born June 18, 1918, in Pittsburg, Kansas, Nelson attended Kansas State University, Northwestern University, and St. Mary's Law School in San Antonio. During World War II he served as an attorney in the Staff Judge Advocates Office at Kelly Air Force Base. In the early 1950s he served on the Board of Trustees at Trinity University, where he taught business law.

Nelson married Helen Ridgway in 1952 and lived on their dairy farm in New Braunfels with Helen's daughter, JoMeree. In 1958 the couple had their second daughter, Elizabeth.

In 1969, after stints with the Texas Milk Producers Federation and Milk Producers Inc., Nelson formed Associated Milk Producers Inc. AMPI to market milk and dairy products on behalf of its farmer-members. With Nelson as General Manager, AMPI grew into the largest milk marketing cooperative in the world, representing more than 40, 000 dairy farmers and extending from the Canadian border south to the Gulf of Mexico, and from Appalachia west to the Rocky Mountains.

Nelson's work with small farmers was 'groundbreaking,' said his daughter Elizabeth. 'He was referred to as 'the grandfather of the dairy industry' for organizing small farmers and encouraging them to work together.' Tom Townsend, a longtime friend and AMPI colleague, said Nelson's 'organizational skills were significant and were critical to his success. He believed in farmers, and he believed that farmers needed representation. He was also an astute politician, very knowledgeable and very respected in the political world.'

In the 1960s, as a board trustee for the Southwest Animal Health Research Foundation, Nelson played a major role in industry efforts to eradicate the screwworm in the Western Hemisphere. The pest, a serious livestock parasite, was defeated through the then-innovative technique of sterilizing insects and releasing them into the wild. Nelson secured unprecedented cooperation from livestock farmers and helped fund a production plant in Mission, Texas, that produced more than 150 million sterile screwworm flies per week.

In 1990, Nelson established the Clara Freshour Nelson Foundation, named for his mother in honor of her commitment to education. The foundation has helped hundreds of college students with financial need to pursue education in Fine Arts.

An avid big-game hunter and self-proclaimed, dyed-in-the-wool New Deal Democrat, Nelson was devoted to politics and established long-standing relationships with many leading politicians, including President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was known for his trademark three-piece suits, ten-gallon hats, and booming laugh. A gifted raconteur, Nelson 'lit up every room he was in,' said his daughter Elizabeth.

He continued traveling, driving, and living life to the fullest until shortly before his death.

Nelson was predeceased by his wife Helen in 1987. He is survived by a brother, William Nelson of Laguna Niguel, California; two daughters, JoMeree Davis of Sarasota, Florida, and Helen Elizabeth Nelson of San Antonio; and a grandson, Samuel Wilder Nelson of San Antonio.