Carl Nelson

Born on December 23, 1917.

Goodbye, Pa... You didn't make it to 100 like you wanted, but you closed-in near 95.  You made my life, and now have changed our lives forever.  -- Son, John

CARL ERIC NELSON

Carl was born in Sweden in 1917.  He emigrated with his family as a pre-teen, and settled in Chicago, IL, where he graduated from high school, attended college, and married his wife, Lillian.

He began a career in radio at 18 years old; altho' he also attended university to become an architect.  He and Lillian married in 1940.  After the U.S. joined WWII, he joined the armed forces with the Army Air Corps and flew missions with a variety of aircraft ranging from the B-24 Liberator to the P-51 Mustang.

After the War, he did not return to college, but continued his career in radio and announcing MC for a wide array of top name Big Bands of that era.  By 1948, however, he migrated to the emerging communications medium, television, and joined NBC's 1st affiliate station, WTMJ.  It was here that he hosted a late night TV Talk Show with a band named The Grenadiers.  This programming format ultimately was the prototype of NBC's "Tonight Show" whose initial long term host was Jack Paar, prior to Johnny Carson becoming the iconic talk show host.

In the early 50's, Carl switched careers to the advertising field, using his extensive background in broadcast media with a partner's extensive background in print media.  In 1960, he made yet another career shift, this time joining one of General Motors' largest franchise affiliates in an executive capacity.  This wasn't as radical shift as one might think because the GM account had been one his largest clients at his ad firm for many years.

Carl and Lillian had 2 children, John (son) and Elyse (daughter).  They spent about half of their lives in the Upper Midwest, and split the other half between various locations in California and Oregon.  Beginning in late 1997, Carl and Liillian began the process of moving to Southern California to live with their son, John and daughter-in-law, Barbara.  This move was prompted by the worsening effects of Lillian's Alzheimers disease, which had become a Care-Giver's challenge for Carl.  They spent about half their time in SoCal during 1998-99, and made the big move to an apartment that had been addded to John & Barbara's house in mid 2000.

Lillian passed away in 2005.  Carl continued living at the apartment until mid-2006, when he tripped in the middle of the night and injured his neck in the process.  His recovery was slow, but he managed to progress to using a walker about 6 months after the accident.  Unfortunately, within a month of being out of a wheelchair, Carl fell again -- this time breaking his hip.  He had a hip replacement, but recovery was sporadic and slow.  He was unable to return to independent living at the apartment, so moved into an assisted living facility in nearby Loma Linda, where he remained for the rest of his living days.

Passed away on May 15, 2012.