Robert Eric Nelson

Robert Eric Nelson, 81, passed away peacefully at UnityPoint-Allen Hospital on Wednesday, January 24th with his children by his side. He was born on July 5th, 1942 in Cleveland, OH. His parents were Hilmer K and Lillian Osterlund Nelson.

He moved around a lot during his school years and then graduated high school at Waterloo West in 1960. In April 1962, he married the love of his life Nancy Evans in Waterloo. She passed away in 2019. To this union were born twins, Kevin and Kimberly Nelson. He held many odd jobs during high school and then after graduating went to work for John Deere. He retired in 1990. He owned and operated Bob's R/C Hobby Store in the metro area for many years. In 2005 he finally found his dream job as a design engineer at Sig Manufacturing, a model airplane manufacturer in Montezuma where he moved to a house on Lake Ponderosa. Sig closed operations in Montezuma in 2023 and he moved back to Waterloo in June. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force.

Robert's passion was designing, building, and flying model airplanes and his dog Sigyn. He also enjoyed going out on his boat and fishing and Freemasonry. He was a member of Waterloo Lodge 105 in Waterloo and Poweshiek Lodge 174 in Malcom. He was also a member of Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction. He was a singer and enjoyed singing with church choirs and with the Proud Image Barbershop Chorus.

He was preceded in death by his wife Nancy, his parents, a brother, and a nephew.

Survivors include his children Kevin (Karrie) and Kimberly; 6 grandchildren, Aaron Nelson, Mary Nelson, Rose Nelson, Melanie Nelson, Dario (Kelsey) McHaney, and Michaela Arce; 3 great-grandchildren, Matilda and Winona VerHoef, Brynleigh McHaney, and on new one on the way.