On Sunday, July 24, 2022, Dr. Eric V. Nelson, beloved husband, Dad, and Grandpa, passed from scenic planet Earth to his heavenly home.

He was born on January 9, 1940 in Green Bay, Wisconsin to the late Earl V. and Billie (Wahls) Nelson. On June 18, 1961, Eric married the love of his life and favorite person on the planet, Marilyn aka Maxie. They met in high school and were partners by every definition of the word, celebrating 61 years of marriage in June 2022. Dad told us many times what a charmed life he lived. He never stopped bragging about how brilliant Mom is, how proud he was of us kids, in laws, and the grandkids.

Eric received his Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and PhD from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. He proudly served as a Biology Professor at Ohio Northern University in Ada, OH for 33 years and was honored with Professor Emeritus status upon retirement. Eric and Marilyn retired to Celina, OH where they were active members of St. John Lutheran Church and loved living in a log cabin close to Grand Lake St. Marys.

Dad deeply loved his wife, his kids and grandkids, his family, friends, his children's friends, colleagues, students, fellow church goers, and most of the people and all of the dogs he ever met. He was a kind and gifted teacher, outdoorsman, honeybee wrangler, lover of movies "with no social redeeming value whatsoever," photographer, writer, Green Bay Packer fan, artist, reader, sarcastic son of a gun, and life-long learner who was immersed in the natural world and science from an early age and passed that love on personally and professionally. We are thankful he is finally at peace and confident he is embracing this next adventure.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn (Van Vonderen) Nelson; 2 sons, Cameron (Stacey) Nelson of Fort Wayne, IN and Mark (Becky) Nelson of Bowling Green, OH; daughter, Trina Nelson Thomas of Orange, TX; brother, Doug (Donna) Nelson of Lena, WI and sister, Susie Hasse of Cross Plains, WI; and 9 grandchildren, Tyler, Grace, Claire, Andy, Jordan, Katie, Sarah, Emma, Alex, and 2 great grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later time.

Preferred memorial may be made to St. John Lutheran Church Builders Club or Ohio Northern University Biology Department. Please make checks payable to the organization and mail to the funeral home.

To sign our guest book visit www.hshfuneralhome.com.