James Conrad Nelson

mathematics at Boulder City High School, died peacefully at his home on Thursday, January 9,

2020, at the age of 93. The cause was Parkinson’s disease.

Born in Keokuk, Iowa, Mr. Nelson was a second-generation teacher. His mother, Verna,

taught at a one-room school house in Nauvoo, Illinois, where he and his older brother, Joe, grew

up in a house built by their grandfather. His father, Joseph, owned and operated the Nauvoo

Electric Light and Power Company and was active in community affairs. After graduating from

high school in 1944, Mr. Nelson enlisted in the Army Air Corps during WWII where he trained

as a teletype repairman.

Following his military service, Mr. Nelson attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign where he earned a bachelor’s degree in math and a master’s degree in education.

During his undergraduate studies, he was the team manager for the U. of I. Fighting Illini

basketball team. In 1949 he accompanied the team to the NCAA tournament in Seattle and

took his first airplane trip on a DC3 during a turbulent March storm.

In 1951 he met fellow Illini, Sabra Mills, from Mt. Morris, Illinois, whom he married the

following year. The couple settled in Boulder City, Nevada, where Mr. Nelson began teaching

math and coaching basketball at BCHS. They had two sons, Jim, a pediatrician in Tennessee,

and Steven, a computer science engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After Sabra’s untimely passing from lupus in 1968, Mr. Nelson was introduced to Sally

Bannon, a fellow Midwesterner from Indiana and a junior high math teacher in Las Vegas. They

were married in 1969, and last year, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Mr. Nelson began his career teaching traditional high school math. During the 1960s and

70s, he embraced New Math and encouraged his students to draw function machines and learn without text books. He also helped coach the junior high math competition team. After his

retirement from BCHS, he focused his attention on teaching basic math to adults at the

community college level.

Mr. Nelson’s calm and patient approach to teaching, along with his keen Midwestern sense

of humor, were perfectly matched to the small town pulse of Boulder City, its high school

students, his neighbors, and to those who knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Sally; his sons, Jim and wife, Donna; Steve and wife, Troi;

grandchildren, Rebecca, Catherine, Caralee, and Zachary; great-grandchildren, Charlotte and

Millie; and much loved extended family and friends.

Respecting his wishes, there will be no memorial service, and a private burial for immediate

family members will follow. The family has established the James C. Nelson Memorial

Scholarship Fund at the Public Education Foundation. This scholarship opportunity will go to

support Boulder City High School seniors pursuing higher education. If you wish to make a

donation to the fund, you may do so by going to https://thepef.org/donate/.