Mr. Gustave G. Nelson

Gustave G. Nelson, 80, of Kimball Farms Life Care Retirement Community Center, passed away on Monday evening, September 28, 2015 at Kimball Farms Nursing Center. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, March 15, 1935, the son of Gustave Adolf and Frances Mae Weir Nelson. Shortly after birth, the family moved to Queens County and resided in Jamaica, NY. He was educated in the New York City Public Schools graduating from John Adams High School in South Ozone Park, NY. Continuing his education, he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with honors from Wagner College in Staten Island. Following college he attended The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA earning a Master of Divinity degree. Uncertain about his career goals he decided to explore the field of teaching and earned a Master of Arts degree from Maxwell School of Syracuse University majoring in History. He transferred to New York University and undertook a graduate program in Sociology, completing all the course work for the degree. Additional graduate studies were undertaken at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in the School of Education with a major in Higher Education. Mr. Nelson lived in Cheshire, MA from 1967 until July 2007 when he moved to Lenox. The same year he moved to Cheshire, he began his teaching career at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY, teaching Sociology until 1974. He then transferred to Berkshire Community College and taught courses in the Behavioral Sciences Department. In addition, he taught the History of the Holocaust and Comparative Religion in the Department of History. Professor Nelson retired in 2001 after more than thirty seven years in the college classroom. He was known as a dedicated teacher and was extremely passionate about his teaching, especially the joy of working with mature students returning to the classroom at BCC. A local history buff, he was a student of Shaker History and collector of antiques, especially early American and Shaker. He was especially proud of two professional awards he received during the course of his career. The Communal Studies Association recognized him for his educational leadership as director of the Berkshire Shaker Seminar, which he directed for some seventeen years. Upon his retirement, the leadership of the Shaker Seminar was assumed by Hancock Shaker Village. Proud of his association with the village, he served as a member of the Board of Overseers for many years. While at BCC he developed and taught the course on the History of the Holocaust, which is still offered in the curriculum today. The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires presented him The President’s Award on June 20, 2000, in recognition of his contributions to the field of Holocaust Studies. A member of St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Pittsfield, he served as a member of the Parish Vestry, a Lector, and as a Eucharistic Lay Minister. On May 30, 1970, he was married to the late June Maxine Mays in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She predeceased him on January 15, 2005. He is survived by his two sons, David Andrew Nelson and his wife Tara of Rochester, MA and Eric Christopher Nelson of Atlanta, GA, his two grandsons, Liam John Nelson, Connor Patrick Nelson and his granddaughter, Taryn Jackson all of Rochester, and his sister, Frances Emily Nelson Cella of Henderson, NV. He will be lovingly remembered by his nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by another sister, Ellen Marjorie Nelson Bresnick late of North Babylon, BY. FUNERAL NOTICE The funeral for Gustave G. Nelson will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at 9:00 AM from the Dwyer Funeral Home, 776 North St. Pittsfield, MA 01201 with a Requiem Eucharist at 10:00 AM at St. Stephens Church celebrated by the Rev. Cricket Cooper, Rector. Interment will be at a later date. Calling hours will be on Friday October 2, 2015 from 4:00 until 7:00 PM at the funeral home. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, friends and family may choose to make donations in his memory to either, St. Stephen’s Table, a program to feed the poor in our community, or to Hancock Shaker Village in care of the funeral home. DONATIONS CANNOT BE MADE ONLINE, but may be made through the Dwyer Funeral Home.

Mr. Gustave G. Nelson

March 15, 1935 - September 28, 2015