He was born in Pickens, Mississippi on November 22, 1941. At a young age, he moved to Chicago, Illinois. James graduated from Crane High School in Chicago, receiving his High School Diploma. He then went into the US Army becoming an MP stationed in Germany, where he would meet and marry Elfriede J. Bohn. They were married for 50 years.
James worked as a Quality Control Engineer for GTE for over 20 years, before becoming a truck driver from which he retired several years ago.
James was proceeded in death by his wife, Elfriede and his sister Inez. He is survived by his loving children James E. Jr with daughter in law Mona Shroff, Richard, Christine (Brown) with son in law Jerome Brown, Alexandra (Davis) with son in law Andre, and Nicole. His loving grandchildren are Jubilee, Spencer, Sammy, Hannah and Stephanie. He is also survived by loving sisters Emma, Patricia, and Hattie along with several nieces, nephews and so on.
In lieu of flowers or cards, please send a donation in James L Nelson’s name to the Wounded Warrior Fund.
