Dr. Clayton Nelson

Memorial Services for Dr. Clayton E.J. Nelson, Albert Lea, will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, April 23, 2012 at Grace Lutheran Church. The Reverend Andrea Myers will officiate. Friends may visit with family one hour before the service. Private interment with Military Honors will be in Hillcrest Cemetery. Clayton died at Mayo Clinic Health System, Albert Lea, on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. He was 96 years old. Clayton was born on February 6, 1916, in Chicago, IL, the son of Axel N. and Hannah(Larson) Nelson. In 1932, Clayton graduated from high school in Center City, Minnesota. He continued his education, receiving his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1940. He married Agnes Myrin on March 22, 1940 in Alexandria, Minnesota. Clayton began his medical internship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. Clayton entered into active duty in the United States Army's Medical Corp as a First Lieutenant on October 10, 1941, at Fort Sheridan, IL. He served at Fort Sheridan until his transfer to Camp Miles Standish near Taunton, MA in 1943. His tour of duty later included Ireland, England, and France. After his honorable discharge from the army on October 9, 1945, Clayton and family headed for Minnesota to find a place where he could practice medicine. The Gamble Clinic in Albert Lea was where he began on November 15, 1945. In 1960 the clinic merged with the Albert Lea West Clinic where he continued serving our community until retiring in 1980. Agnes died in 1984. He married Betty Lundstrom in 1987, in Freemont, NE. She preceded him in death in 2008. He was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, the Kiwanis. He enjoyed walking, needlework and reading. He is survived by four children: daughter Myrna V. (Erling) Lindstrom, Vancouver, British Columbia, Charles (Dortha) Nelson, Springville, AL, Ramona Nelson and Paul Nelson both of Minneapolis, MN; grandson David C. Nelson of Kennesaw, Georgia; sister Lorraine Holmen of Plantation, Florida. He was preceded in death by his parents Axel and Hannah Nelson, wife Agnes, his second wife Betty , brother-in-law Gordon Holmen. In lieu of flowers memorials suggested to Grace Lutheran Church or the Albert Lea Medical Center Foundation.