"Nellie" Celebration of Life
 
Watch Now
Archival Information Coming Soon
John "Nellie" Nelson
Nellie,
an inspiration to two decades of Pacific Lutheran football players,
coaches and fans, was 44 at the time of his death. He had served in
recent years as a PLU football volunteer assistant coach, taking an
active role in the program's administrative duties.
John "Nellie" Nelson, an inspiration to two decades of Pacific Lutheran football players, coaches and fans, died Sunday, August 30th at 4:30pm at his residence, Avamere Heritage Rehabilitation Center in Tacoma, surrounded by several dozen current PLU football players and coaches. Nelson was 44 years of age which is a miracle because he was told he would not live beyond age 30. Nelson was born on Dec. 20, 1964, in Singapore with the disease Arthrogryposis, which locked all of his joints from the neck down. In a wheel chair since birth, John was unable to feed himself, bathe himself, or even go to the bathroom without assistance. Because
they could not care for him, John was given up by his real parents when
he was a baby. He was brought to the United States in the 70’s because
of his medical condition. He was adopted by a family in Orting. At age 18, John left home and lived in a series of nursing homes.
He finally finished high school at Lakes High School, attended
community college and was encouraged by a PLU admission counselor to
apply to PLU. In
1988, John was introduced to PLU football by a member of his residence
hall. His 20 year career as the #1 fan and eventual assistant coach
began on that day. Nellie,
as he would come to be known--helped hundreds of PLU students, football
players, coaches and countless others to learn that “no matter our lot
in life—we have the power to choose to be positive or negative.
|
 
 
 
|
