Donald W. Nelson, 82, Stevens Point, died Saturday, May 21, 2016, at the Portage County Health Care Center in Stevens Point.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 26, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Stevens Point, with the Rev. Thomas Petersen officiating. Committal will be at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery at a later date.

Visitation will be at the Boston Funeral Home from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, and at the church from 10 a.m. Thursday until the service.

Memorials will be established at a later date.

Condolences may be offered online at
www.bostonfuneralhome.net.

Mr. Nelson was born Nov. 25, 1933, in Medford, a son of the
late Chester and Gertrude (Strebig) Nelson. He grew up on the family farm in
the town of Hammel in Taylor County and attended Meadowbrook Grade School. He
graduated from Medford High School in 1951.

He attended a short course in farming at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He was married to Alice Blasel Sept. 6, 1958, at Zion
Lutheran Church in Stetsonville.

He operated heavy equipment for P.C. Kaiser from 1956 to 1964,
working on the Wisconsin interstate system out of Portage. He was a semi-truck
driver most of his working career; driving for Neuendorf Transportation and
Steel King Industries in Stevens Point. He retired in 1997.

From 2004 to 2013, he drove potato truck for Wysocki Potato
Company during the harvest season.

During his lifetime he drove 4.2 million accident-free
miles. He was awarded Mack Truck’s Million Mile Award in 1974. He was also
Driver of the Month by Wisconsin Motor Carrier in September 1980 and was
acknowledged for his outstanding service as a professional driver in February
1981 by Motor Carriers Association.

After retirement, he and his wife purchased a motor home and
became full-time travelers, spending summers in Canada and winters in Texas,
also traveling to hunt and fish.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Alice Nelson,
Stevens Point; two daughters, Cindy (Mike) Marczak, Stevens Point, and Sharon
(Tim) Maloney, Avon, Ind.; one sister, Shirley Kruescher, Stetsonville; one
son-in-law, Kirk Schield, Two Harbors, Minn.; and seven grandchildren.

He was also preceded in death by one daughter, Beth Schield.