Richard L. "Dick" Nelson

Richard Lee “Dick” Nelson, age 75, of Madison and formerly of Fennimore, passed away peacefully on Saturday April 1, 2017, at his residence in Madison surrounded by his beloved family. He was born on June 27, 1941 in Boscobel the son of Hollis and Beulah (Moen) Nelson.

Richard graduated from Fennimore High School with the class of 1959. He furthered his education at U.W. Platteville, U.W. Madison and Muscatine Iowa in Agronomy and Animal Health Care Science. Richard was united in marriage to the love of his life, Elaine Eisele on February 27, 1960. They were blessed with three children; Rick Jr., Rob and Melissa and their kids blessed them with 10 grandchildren.

Richard started his career working at Bloomington Produce in Bloomington until he partnered with Paul Krogman to buy the business. In 1977, Richard sold his share of Bloomington Produce and purchased Fennimore Roller Mills from Jerome “Peck” Hauk and moved to Fennimore in 1978. In 1990, he sold Fennimore Roller Mills to the Co-op and continued to work in the feed business being employed by Kent Feeds as a District Rep. for seven years. Richard had been associated with and sold Kent Feeds for over 35 years.

Not wanting to fully retire, Richard continued working as a real estate agent for Tim Slack Auction & Reality and also enjoyed very much working as a tour guide for Warco Transportation. He was a favorite tour guide and friend to many in the family of Warco travelers.

Richard adored his family. He loved taking his grandchildren to Christmas Mountain to ski, swimming with them in the summer, and following their sports and music activities in school. Dick was an avid Packer and Badger fan and for many years attended Badger football games. He also loved fishing and golfing and made many fishing trips to Canada. Richard & Elaine also enjoyed traveling together on many trips to different countries.

Richard is survived by his wife of 57 years, Elaine, of Madison, three children; Rick Jr. (Pam) Nelson of Fennimore, Rob (Lonna) Nelson of Lancaster and Melissa (Jeff) Vanden Heuvel of Madison, ten grandchildren; Richard III (Beth) Nelson, Andrew (Nicole) Nelson, Matthew (Danielle) Nelson, Dan (Renee) Kwallek, Amy, Ruby and Sydney Kwallek, Ben, Joey and Rachel Vanden Heuvel, four great grandchildren; Andria Nelson, Aaron Nelson, Ariella and Calie Kwallek, brother-in-law Verne Eisele of Florence, CO., aunt June (Moen) Rewey of Dodgeville and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents, sister and brother-in-law Kathy and Steve Stephens, father and mother-in-law Vern and Gertrude (Karasek) Eisele and six Eisele in laws and their spouses.

Visitation will be held from 3:00-5:00 P.M. on Thursday afternoon April 6, 2017, at Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison followed by a prayer service. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 noon on Saturday April 8, 2017, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fennimore with burial to follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will also be held from 10:00 A.M. until the time of the funeral service on Saturday morning at St Mary’s Catholic Church Hall in Fennimore. In lieu of plants and flowers, a memorial fund is being established in loving memory of Richard L. “Dick” Nelson. The Larson Family Funeral Home of Fennimore is assisting the family