Click Here to View the Funeral for Pastor Ron

On December 2, 2022, at the age of 92, surrounded by family members in Lewis Center, Ohio, Ronald Wilfred Nelson went peacefully from life on earth to life in the presence of Jesus, his Lord and Savior.

Ron was born June 18, 1930, to Lester and Myrtle Nelson of Bucyrus, North Dakota.  He grew up and went to primary school in Bucyrus.  In 1943 the family moved to Bremerton, Washington where Lester worked as an electrician repairing war ships.  In 1946 they returned to Bucyrus where Ronald had his last year of high school.

Then Ronald went to North Dakota Agricultural College (now ND State University) where he studied electrical engineering, graduating with a BS degree in 1951.  He went to work for the General Electric Company at several of their plants in New York state, Philadelphia, Burlington VT, and Milwaukee.  In 1952 he went back to North Dakota and married the girl he had met through Lutheran Student Association, Ruth Nyjordet.  They went back East, and he continued with GE in Lynn and Pittsfield, Mass.  He liked engineering and even got a patent during his second year with GE, but he felt dissatisfied with his Christian witness since he was giving all time and energy to engineering problems.  One day he asked his Ruth out of the blue: "If you had a chance to back up and start over again, what would you rather do?"  Without much hesitation she said, "Be a missionary."  That is the same thing he was thinking though he had not told her.

So he resigned from GE and applied to Luther Seminary in St. Paul.  Looking through his academic record, they said he would have to get Greek and a few other subjects before admission.  So he went to Augsburg College in Minneapolis and found a part time job as an electrical engineer with an aeronautical research firm in Minneapolis.  After that year of preparatory studies he was admitted to the Seminary.  During those years at college and seminary they had all four of their children—three sons and a daughter.

Upon graduation he applied to the Division of World Mission, and they were assigned to the mission in Cameroon.  The first four years there, they worked among the Dowaayo people.  Missionaries had already established churches in several Dowaayo towns.  Since there were many tribes in the area, they first learned the Fulani language which is the lingua-franca for Northern Cameroon.  They soon learned that this was inadequate for reaching the Dowaayo people, so Ron learned their language as well.

After a year of furlough, speaking in churches in the upper Midwest, they returned to Cameroon and were assigned to create a recording studio to prepare broadcasts in the Fulfulde language for transmission from Radio Voice of the Gospel transmitters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  After a little over a year of building and traveling around to recruit workers, the first broadcast was made in November 1966.  During the years as director of the studio, he did a lot of traveling throughout West Africa to visit the areas inhabited by the Fulbe (aka Fulani) people who are traditionally nomadic cattle herders.  Thankfully, the broadcasts, coupled with personal witness bore fruit with new believers in Cameroon and many in other countries as well.  These followers of Jesus gather in villages to help and encourage one another as well as to have Christian fellowship with others who understand their language and their situation.

Since retirement in 1995, Ron made twelve trips back to Africa.  The latest was a four-month trip at the end 2017 and the beginning of 2018.  Each time, he was asked to come and teach among the new believers.  They are not tied to any denomination and are working out their own plans for fellowship and growth in the faith.  One of these new believers has had Bible school training, so he serves as a leader and teacher.  They wanted Ron to return as often as possible and to remain as long as possible.  After his beloved Ruth passed away in 2006 and was buried in the cemetery south of Bucyrus, he lived by himself in Hettinger until 2019 when he moved to be with his daughter Karen and family in Ohio.

Ron loved and served his Lord Jesus with joy throughout the course of his life.  He treasured his family, including his beloved bride, Ruth, his parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and prayed faithfully for each one.  The Fulbe people of West Africa were also close to his heart for the last 60 years of his life, from the time he first went to Cameroon.  He greatly enjoyed music, playing and teaching violin.  He was adventurous and was quick to find humor in life, while exhibiting a deep trust in the grace and goodness of God.

Ron was preceded in death by his beloved Ruth Beverly (Nyjordet) Nelson on October 15, 2006; his parents, Lester and Myrtle; his sister, Betty Rickerson; great-grandsons, Paul Daniel Brewer and Asa Warren Reineke; and his first-born son, Steven Paul Nelson, at the age of 46, who left a wife, Dottie, and daughter, Debbie Ruth.

He is survived by three of his four children: Philip (June) Nelson of Fargo, ND; Nick Nelson of Bismarck, ND; and Karen (Rick) Negley of Lewis Center, OH; daughter-in-law, Dottie Nelson (Samuel) Galvan of Tucson, AZ; 9 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren; his brother Jerry Nelson of Davenport, IA; nieces, nephews, and many friends in the U.S., Africa, and Europe.

A funeral is planned for Wednesday, December 21, 2022 (10:00 AM Mountain Time) at Hettinger Lutheran Church, 904 S Second Ave, Hettinger, ND 58639, followed by burial in the Cemetery at Bucyrus, ND.  The funeral service in Hettinger will be livestreamed on the website www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com and can be viewed by going to Ron's obituary and clicking on "view funeral service here."  A memorial service is also planned for Sunday, January 8, 2023 (3:00 PM Eastern Time) at Berlin Church, 5175 S Old State Rd, Lewis Center, OH 43035, with live streaming on the church's YouTube channel.  In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made for Fulbe Ministry, c/o Berlin Church, 5175 S Old State Rd, Lewis Center, OH 43035.  Checks should be made payable to Berlin Church, with Fulbe Ministry in the memo.

Evanson Jensen Funeral Homes in Hettinger, ND, is handling local arrangements, with assistance from Snyder Funeral Homes in Sunbury, OH.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing  (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master' (Matthew 25:21).