Lewis Nelson Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Lewis “Lew” Scott Nelson, age 81, passed away peacefully in the early morning of June 19th, 2022, after battling illness for the last few years. Lewis was born on January 26th, 1941, in Lake Preston, South Dakota, to Maurice and Mina (Scott) Nelson. The family lived on the outskirts of town on a small farm. Some of his fondest childhood memories included playing on the family acreage and trips to Anacortes, WA where his uncles taught him and his brother how to hunt and fish. The Puget Sound would leave an impression that would last a lifetime. These early years also served as the start of his lifelong love of geography when he was introduced to maps during a prolonged childhood illness that kept him bedridden. The school installed a speaker system between his bedroom and the classroom. He was an early proponent of ‘remote’ learning. During high school, a similar love of science saw Lewis achieve success in fairs at the local, state, and national level. He attended Boys State in 1958 and 1959 and was a medal winner at the 1960 National Science Fair. On the employment front, he often boasted of having had the two best jobs as a teenager in Lake Preston – lifeguard and the theater projectionist. It was in high school that he met the love of his life, Gloria Danielson, also of Lake Preston. After graduating high school, Lewis attended the University of Pennsylvania starting in the fall of 1960. He and Gloria were married on May 11th, 1963. They spent that summer together and worked in Anacortes, WA – Gloria as a waitress and Lewis at the local sawmill. Lewis returned to classwork at Penn in the fall of 1963 and then transferred to South Dakota State University, in Brookings, in the fall of 1965. During his time at SDSU, Lewis also worked as a Biological Lab Technician for the Department of Agriculture. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1968. Wanting to continue his education, Lewis applied for and was accepted to graduate school at Oregon State University. Lewis and Gloria packed their bags and moved to Corvallis in June of 1968. Three months later their son, Scott, was born. Despite enjoying his coursework in microbiology, poor job prospects and certain relocation led to a change in his path. During graduate school he had started performing photography jobs for various clients. Deciding to take on photography full time, and after converting the family garage into a darkroom with help from his father-in-law, Lewis opened Scott Photo for business in 1972. Ever independent professionally, Lewis spent his entire adult life self-employed. Scott Photo mainly served the university scientific community, but Lewis also did some commercial work and enjoyed aerial photography. Several of his Cascade Range volcano aerial photos were published in late 1980. One could say everything changed the day Lewis walked into a local computer store in the fall of 1984 and bought his first Apple product, a Lisa computer. Now able to create content, rather than just photograph it, he quickly became an avid user and fan. He joined the fledgling Corvallis Macintosh User Group in the fall of 1985, became a board member in 1986, and was elected president in 1990. In the mid-1990s Lewis was a multi-year member of Apple’s User Group Advisory Council. In the late 1990’s Lewis transitioned his business to Macintosh technical support and renamed it Scott Computers. By all appearances he greatly enjoyed this second act to his career, which lasted until his retirement in 2016. Even in retirement, Lewis was a loyal Apple user and evangelist and only recently gave up his final duties as a member of the user group. Both Lewis and Gloria shared a love of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. They enjoyed camping, backpacking, visiting the Oregon coast, road trips, and travelling in general. Camping at the Oregon coast was a summertime favorite in the earlier years. So was arriving in Anacortes at his aunt Katie’s house late on a Friday evening for a weekend visit. Some of their more memorable trips later on were to the desert Southwest, Canada, Baja California, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Costa Rica, England, Italy, and Spain. Other activities that brought joy to his life were scuba diving, dining at his favorite restaurant, a fine wine, and good conversation. Lewis always relied on his faith as life’s challenges presented themselves. He was an active member of Grace Lutheran Church, and served on several committees, since the early 1970’s. The family would like to thank the Grace community, and all of his friends, for all the support and love they have shown over these many years and especially recently as Lewis struggled with health issues that slowed him physically, but never spiritually. Lewis is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Mary Nelson; two grandchildren, Grace and Molly; and sister, Marla Skoglund. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Gloria (Danielson) Nelson; brother, William (Bill); and sister, Nancy. Services for Lewis will be held at Grace Lutheran Church located at 435 NW 21st St, Corvallis, OR, 97330 on Saturday, July 9th, at 1pm. Please donate to your favorite charity in lieu of any flowers. A reception will be held after the service at the church.

Tributes

Lewis Nelson

January 26, 1941 - June 19, 2022