Wilbur Nelson

Middletown, RI. November 25, 2004. Wilbur Nelson died today at his home in the John Clarke Retirement Center. He was the husband of the late Dorothy Teaze Nelson. Son of the Reverend Wilbur Nelson and Nurella Phipps Nelson, he was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania on Christmas Day in 1915, the youngest of five children. His family moved to Newport in 1918, and Mr. Nelson remained an Aquidneck Island resident for the rest of his life. Beginning in 1991, he spent many winters at his condominium in Bradenton, Florida.He attended the University of Rhode Island and was a graduate of the Stonier School of Banking at Williams College and Rutgers University. He was on active duty with the U.S. Navy during World War II and again during the Korean Conflict. A lifelong member of the United Baptist Church of Newport, he served for many years as treasurer and a trustee. Mr. Nelson spent his entire career in banking, retiring in 1976 as vice-president of Rhode Island Hospital Trust Bank and manager of its Newport County offices. During his professional years, he served as a director of the Newport Electric Corporation; trustee, secretary, and finance committee member of Newport Hospital; director and vice-president of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce; treasurer of the Newport Historical Society; finance committee member of the Newport Preservation Society; treasurer of the Girls? Club of Newport County, and director and treasurer of the Army and Navy YMCA. He was on the advisory committee of the Norman Bird Sanctuary and a member of the Newport Rotary Club, the Middletown Housing Authority, and the Middletown Industrial Development Council.Mr. Nelson was a member of the Newport School Committee from 1952 until 1954. In 1962, he served as general campaign chairman of the Newport Community Chest, and later as Newport area vice-chairman of the United Way campaign. From 1956 until 1997, Mr. Nelson was a trustee of the John Clarke Trust, the oldest charitable trust in the United States. He once noted that his activity with this organization ?became the most important work of my life.? John Clarke, one of the founders of Newport, died in 1676 and stipulated that the proceeds from his estate be used ?for the relief of the poor and the bringing up of children unto learning.? During his long tenure with the Trust, Mr. Nelson was instrumental in maximizing the value of the Clarke estate by selling many acres of land and investing the proceeds in securities. Joseph Gaudet Middle School, the Newport County YMCA, the John Clarke Retirement Center, United Congregational Church, and Aquidneck Industrial Park have all been built on what was formerly John Clarke land. Today, the John Clarke Trust grants well over $100, 000 every year to educational and social service organizations throughout the area. From 1975 until 2003, Mr. Nelson also served as a trustee of the Robert B. Cranston Trust, another charitable organization. An avid sailor, golfer, and traveler, Mr. Nelson was a long-time member of the Newport Yacht Club, the Newport Country Club, and the Timber Creek Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, where, at the age of 80, he shot a hole-in-one. During his retirement years, he traveled throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in the Far East, Europe, and Central America. Mr. Nelson leaves his daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and James Watterson of Westport, Massachusetts; his granddaughters and their husbands, Julie and Young Un of Easton, Massachusetts; and Kathryn and Aaron Johnson of Lexington, Massachusetts; and his granddaughter, Elizabeth Gunzelman, of Silver Spring, Maryland. He also leaves three great-grandchildren, Emma and Thomas Un and Claire Johnson, and many nieces and nephews.There will be a Memorial Service to celebrate Mr. Nelson?s life on January 2, 2005, at 12:30, at the United Baptist Church, 30 Spring Street, Newport, Rhode Island. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the John Clarke Charitable Trust, c/o Emma M. Greene, Executive Relationship Manager, Charitable Trust Services, Fleet Private Clients Group, 100 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110; the United Baptist Church, 30 Spring Street, Newport, RI 02840; or to the charity of the donor?s choice.Arrangements by Memorial Funeral Home 375 Broadway Newport, RI 02840.