Surgeon and piano expert, Nels came to Princeton from Culver Military Academy.

At Princeton he joined Dial Lodge, rowed on the 150-pound crew, and roomed with Al Ellis, Todd Johnson, and Fred Lewis. He left after junior year to earn a medical degree from the University of Chicago, then served as battalion surgeon with the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. He finished his specialty training in urology at Duke in 1962 and practiced from then until retirement at the Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic.

His community service was extensive and varied, in numerous medical and musical institutions, as well as the Presbyterian Church. An opera lover, he was a registered piano technician, rebuilding, repairing, and tuning pianos for 25 years.

With his wife, Joan Moffat, who died in 2010, he had three children, David, Kathryn, and Christopher. Nels died July 29, 2013. The class sends condolences to his family on the loss of our accomplished classmate.

Undergraduate Class of 1952