On October 13th, 2025, James Allen Nelson, known by most everyone as Jim, “went West” at the age of 88.
Jim was born to Norman and Lucille (Ruud) Nelson during a blizzard in Dawson, Minnesota on March 24th, 1937. He attended Dawson High School, where he played baseball, basketball and football before graduating in 1955. He went on to attend the University of Minnesota and Augsburg University in Minneapolis, graduating in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a minor in Physics.
While still in school at the age of 13, he enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard, before being discharged when the unit was activated and sent to Korea in 1951. Having not learned his lesson, he re-enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard in 1952. While attending Officer Candidate School, he was required to provide a birth certificate, at which time the Army realized he had joined before the legal age of 16 once again, so they changed his enlistment date to 1953, the year he would have legally been able to enlist. After being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1960, Jim was assigned as an Artillery Officer and it was during this time that he decided being an observation pilot was “a lot safer” than being on the ground after noticing that they weren’t being bitten by mosquitos like he was. After completing flight school, he went on to serve flying an assortment of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters before retiring at the rank of Captain in 1975 from the Kansas Army National Guard.
After graduating college, Jim married Ruth Hill on August 9th, 1959 and took a job as a high school teacher in Clara City, Minnesota teaching math and physics while coaching baseball, basketball and football. In 1962, he got a job with TWA and moved to Overland Park, Kansas soon after. He spent 35 years with TWA, flying numerous aircraft including the Lockheed Constellation, DC-9, Lockheed 1011 and Boeing 747, accumulating a total of 35,000 flight hours between the National Guard and TWA before retiring at age 60 in 1997 as a 747 Captain. He enjoyed traveling while he was flying, some of his favorites being takeoffs from Honolulu, as he always said that the sunset on the water was beautiful and visiting the pyramids in Egypt while on layover in Cairo.
In 1973, he and his family moved to the farm in Smithville, Missouri, where he stayed the remainder of his life. Jim enjoyed hunting, fishing, watching the Kansas City Chiefs play (and win all four of their Super Bowls) and playing bridge with his friends on Thursday nights. He was an active member of the community, being a part of the Kiwanis and the Smithville American Legion, often seen volunteering at events such as the Kiwanis Fishing Derby and the American Legion’s Honor Guard.
Jim is survived by his wife of 66 years, Ruth, brother Ron and sister Judy (Martens), two children Brian and Elizabeth (Suhr), four grandchildren Caleb, JoHanna, Caroline and Johannes, a great-grandson James (Jimmy) and countless relatives and friends.
He was a kind and caring person, almost always seen with a smile on his face. He will be greatly missed, leaving behind a legacy that will impact lives for generations to come.
Celebration of Life: 4:00 p.m. Thursday, October 23rd at the Smithville American Legion with visitation one hour prior.
