The service will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Ravenswood Evangelical Covenant Church, 4900 N. Damen in Chicago, with pastor Bryan Kletzing officiating.

Nelson resided at Covenant Home in Chicago at the time of his death. He was professor emeritus of pastoral studies and the author of several books. He is survived by four children: Robert of Louisville, Kentucky, who is a member of the Covenant Ministerium; Donald of Prattsburg, New York; Marge Sundquist of Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Joyce Nelson Hansell from the Denver, Colorado, area. Eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren also survive. His wife, Margaret preceded him in death.

Ordained in 1944, he served churches in San Pedro, California (1933-1937); Stockton, California (1937-1943); Tacoma, Washington (1944-1947); Lake View Covenant, Chicago, Illinois (1947-1952); and Oakland, California (1952-1960). He served as a professor of practical theology from 1960 to 1976 at North Park Theological Seminary and for a time served as director of evangelism and outreach for the Evangelical Covenant Church. He was one of the contributing writers of the Covenant confirmation book God's Friends and was the recipient of the Irving C. Lambert Award presented during the 1999 Annual Meeting in Green Lake, Wisconsin.

He had just completed work on a revised and expanded edition of his book Crying for My Mother that is due for release during the 2003 Midwinter Conference.