786
November 2019
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
In Memoriam
Charles Nelson
ASPRS Emeritus Member
Charles “Chuck” Alfred Nelson, son
of Emily K. Svien Nelson and Alfred
S. Nelson, was born on March 4,
1942 in Windom, MN, and passed
from Earth on September 19, 2019
in Lake Elmo, MN.
He graduated with a Master’s of
Science in Forestry with an empha-
sis in Remote Sensing and Statis-
tics in 1971 from the University of
Minnesota. Starting in January,
1969, he became a proud lifelong
member of ASPRS (#2660).
Throughout his professional
career (1972-2006), he made many
important contributions to Earth
sciences. He completed his Master’s
thesis at the Cloquet Experimental
Forest (MN) using aerial photos
to understand forest health and
simulate the upcoming Landsat
satellite Multi-Spectral Scanner.
After he completed his M.S., he
married and moved to Houston,
TX, where he worked at the Johnson Space Center (Land-
sat Program) and participated in developing techniques for
airborne and satellite remote sensing, specifically focused on
forest resources. He continued this foundational and early
remote sensing work at the Earth Resources Observation and
Science (EROS) Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD, as Manager
of the Data Analysis Laboratory (1974-84); the Norton Air
Force Base in San Bernardino, CA, as a senior engineer and
earth scientist (1984-87); at TRW in Sunnyvale, CA, as a
program manager (1987-90); the Bureau of Indian Affairs
in Lakewood, CO, as a contract trainer in Remote Sensing
and Geographic Information Systems (1990-1999); and again
with EROS in Sioux Falls (1999-2006), where he completed
his career as a senior topographic scientist in a team that
developed the National Elevation Dataset (NED) and the
Elevation Derivates for National Applications (EDNA; e.g.
shaded relief, flow accumulation, and watershed delineation).
He was innovative and stayed up to date with current tech-
nology, in part due to interactions with colleagues in ASPRS.
Over the years, his teaching and training reached thousands
of scientists, resource managers, cartographers, and others
interested in land management.
The descendant of immigrants, Chuck’s grandfather was
born in Denmark and came to the United States in 1872. He
established a homestead and eventually grew it to a success-
ful 720-acre farm. Chuck’s early years were spent living in
the home his grandparents built and working on the family
farm. He was baptized and confirmed in the Trinity Lutheran
Church of Westbrook, MN. He graduated from Westbrook
High School in 1960. He attended Mankato State College
from 1960-1963, while serving in the Naval Reserve. In June,
1963, he went on active duty. He
was stationed at Charleston, SC,
aboard an oceangoing minesweeper,
the USS Salute (MSO 470), as a
radarman. He cruised the Medi-
terranean and Caribbean off the
coast of Cuba as part of the missile
blockade. After two years in the
Navy, he returned to Westbrook,
managed the family farm, and
completed his Bachelor’s degree
in Forestry at the University of
Minnesota (UM) in 1969. After his
brother Peter died in 1970, Chuck
inherited his airplane, earned his
own private pilot’s license, and flew
for recreation.
He was the proud father of
three children, Nichi, Peder, and
Ben, and the even prouder grand-
father of two grandsons, Chris
and Mike. He taught them many
things, including the importance
of honesty, integrity, humility, and
hard work. He also instilled a love of nature in his children
and grandchildren, teaching them how to identify trees and
plants, along with cross-country skiing, camping, and other
outdoor skills. He was always up for an adventure, learn-
ing something new, and approached life with curiosity. He
delighted in teaching others, and had a natural ability to
break down complex processes into simpler steps. His family
remembers him drinking Folgers freeze-dried coffee at any
hour of the day, eating nuts, and enjoying rhubarb pies
and cakes. His son, Peder, continues his legacy as an active
ASPRS member and instructor of Geography and Geospatial
Sciences at Oregon State University.
Chuck was preceded in death by his parents and his
brothers Peter (d. 1970), Robert “Butch” (d. 1975). He is sur-
vived by his daughter Nichole Christine Miller, her husband
Stephen Miller, and grandsons Christopher and Michael
Miller, of Lake Elmo, MN. He is also survived by two sons,
Peder Vernon Nelson and wife Angela Spencer of Portland,
OR; and Charles Benjamin “Ben” Nelson and wife Rachel
Nelson of Loveland, CO. Along with his children and grand-
children, he is survived by sisters Imogene and Barbara, and
brother Howard. He also leaves behind numerous nieces and
nephews. He will long be remembered by his family and the
many people whose lives he touched over the years. You are
invited to share your own remembrances here:
bradshawfuneral.com/notices/Charles-A-Nelson
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 85, No. 11, November 2019, pp. 786.
0099-1112/19/786
© 2019 American Society for
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.85.11.786
