James Nelson

James Bruce Nelson, 78, passed away at Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, Iowa on June 20th, 2025. Funeral services will be held at Foster Funeral Home in Webster City, Iowa on June 26th at 1:30 p.m. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at the Washington Lutheran Cemetery near Duncombe, Iowa.

James (Jim) Bruce Nelson was born on October 1, 1946, in Webster City, Iowa. Jim grew up on a farm near Renwick and attended school in the Renwick area. He graduated from Boone Valley High School in 1964, and attended and received degrees from Waldorf College and UNI. Jim married Arlyss Smith in 1968 and was later divorced. Jim was drafted into the army in 1968 and served 15 months in Korea. Jim’s niece, Katie (Nelson) Bradshaw, had the privilege of interviewing him for the Wright State University Veteran Voices Project in 2019. The interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/41r088--FZ8

Jim had various jobs throughout the years, including managing drive-in movie theaters in Ames and Clinton, Iowa. He worked in IT at Winnebago Industries in Forest City, and his last job was with LeMars Insurance Company in LeMars.

Jim enjoyed baseball, bowling, poker, reading, and playing his guitar. He loved to garden and raised tomatoes for his spaghetti sauce. Jim also spent lots of time working with and building computers, and was the proud owner of a signed original Apple IIGS, the first color computer model made. After suffering a stroke, he lived in Fort Dodge, Ames, and eventually moved to Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, where he continued gardening until his death.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents Mark and Phyllis (Heidick) Nelson; his sister Rose Herrmann, and brother-in-law Robert Hermann; brother-in-law Donald Pinkele; and nephews Adam Pinkele and Rob Herrmann. Jim is survived by brothers Art (Janet) Nelson of Germantown, Wisconsin; Mike (Mary) Nelson of Iowa Falls, Iowa; Merlyn Nelson of Ames, Iowa; sisters Louise Pinkele (widow of Donald Pinkele) of Clear Lake, Iowa; Eileen Nelson of Iowa Falls, Iowa; and Debbie Nelson of Duncombe, Iowa. Jim’s extended family includes many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.