On Thursday, January 11, 2024, of Rockville, MD. Beloved husband of Joan E. Nelson (deceased); father of Lori (Robert) McCarthy and Dilene (Gary) Cruickshank; grandfather of Kevin Daniel (Amanda), Brendan Richard, Joseph Thomas (Victoria), Mary Katherine, and Eric Devon McCarthy; great grandfather of Theodore Patrick, Brady Daniel, Margaret Grace, Oliver Cormac, and Isla Josephine McCarthy; brother of Bruce Nelson, Earl Nelson, Shirley Upham, and Karen Ressler. Richard was born in Bismarck, ND, one of eight children of Ben and Edith Nelson. He joined the United States Navy in 1952 at the outset of the Korean conflict. He trained at Great Lakes and Norfolk and served on carrier destroyer-escorts in the Caribbean, Richard became a trainer at Newport, RI and Key West, FL, specializing in radar/sonar detection of Soviet subs. At the end of his service in 1956, Richard settled in Staten Island, New York, where he had met the love of his life, Joan. He attended Wagner College, married, and started a family. He worked for over 30 years as a manager at Sears Roebuck and company. He moved to the Washington, DC area in 1968 when Sears needed him to manage a new credit central and served in an advisory capacity to groups looking to enhance the security of the credit card industry. He was an avid golfer and enjoyed spending time camping with his grandchildren. After retiring from Sears in 1991, Richard studied Tae Kwon Do with his grandsons and oldest daughter, earning his black belt at age 62 and eventually becoming an assistant instructor. He also loved to spend time in retirement at his vacation home in Ocean Pines, MD near the beach. He served as care giver to his beloved wife Joan of almost 60 years as she battled cancer and finally succumbed to the disease 2017. After her passing, he sold his home in Silver Spring and moved to an independent living cottage at The Village At Rockville senior community. One of his greatest pleasures was taking family train trips, visiting model train displays, and collecting trains with his youngest grandson. Friends and family are invited to attend a visitation at 10am and Lutheran memorial service at 10:30am at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, 11800 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD on February 1, 2024 followed by Interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. A reception and celebration of life will be held thereafter at Clydes Tower Oaks Lodge, 2 Preserve Pkwy, Rockville, MD 20852. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Delaware Seaside Railroad Club, P.O. Box 479, Ocean View, DE 19970.
https://www.degives.org/events/4/donations/new?fid=3080
For those who cannot attend in person, please join us via Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6565237157?pwd=aGhIdjR6K2djc29vRDRVVjZOVnBmZz09&omn=89074771602
