Obituary: Glenn Nelson

Glenn Nelson, 95, of Cloquet passed away on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. He was born in Elfros, Saskatchewan, to Edwin and Phoebe Nelson. Glenn was the youngest of the family, with two brothers and two sisters. The family moved to Montevideo, Minnesota while Glenn was still a young child.

After graduating high school in Montevideo, Glenn joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Colorado Springs. While he was there, he was invited on a blind date and met June, the love of his life. Glenn was then deployed to Japan and Korea. After his discharge, he and June moved to Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where they started their family.

Glenn began his career with Northwestern Bell as a telephone lineman. He also worked in Virginia and Chisholm before ending his career as an office manager in Duluth while living in Cloquet.

Glenn was an exceptional athlete. He was a starting pitcher in the town baseball leagues and the skip of the curling team in Chisholm.

He loved to hunt pheasant and train his labrador retrievers, taking first place in a number of field trials. Glenn was also an avid fisherman, spending many hours on Island and Fish lakes with his family and friends. He would never return home skunked, even if it meant sitting in the rain for hours.

Glenn was bitten by the golfing bug. He had two hole-in-ones and spent as much time on the course as possible until he was no longer able to swing a club.

Glenn was preceded in death by his wife, June, and his parents, brothers and sisters, and granddaughter Ryan. He is survived by his daughter, Brenda (Larry) Schmid; sons, Randy (Joanne) and Jim (Patti) Nelson; grandchildren Sara, Cohen (Shania), Cale (Sarah), Kristian, and Samantha; great-grandchildren, Antonio, Lucia, Charlie and Paisley; and good friend, Marcia Kalinda.

Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. memorial service Friday, Jan. 24 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Cloquet. Refreshments will follow in Luther Hall. Arrangements by Nelson Funeral Care. To leave an online condolence for the family, visit http://www.nelsonfuneralcare.net.