Obituary of Donald Nelson

Donald J. Nelson, a native of Arlington who returned to make his career as principal of Arlington High School, died at home with his daughter on Friday, June 25, 2010. Don was 92 years old and had waged a stoic and dignified battle with cancer. Born in Poughkeepsie, he was the son of Clarence O. and Josephine Dodd Nelson. A member of the first class to graduate from the Arlington High School on Dutchess Turnpike in 1935, Don earned five varsity letters during his senior year. As a young man, before the Coast Guard sent ice breakers up the Hudson he regularly medaled in speed skating races across the river. On graduating high school he declined a job offer from a successful uncle, and instead enrolled at Ithaca College, hoping to be the first in his family to earn a degree. When his education was interrupted by the Depression in 1937 he came home to find work alongside his father at the Hart Manufacturing factory in Arlington. However, with the generous assistance of his parish priest, Peter P. Conaty, of Holy Trinity, and several part-time jobs he was able to return to his studies. At Ithaca, Don was a middle distance runner who captained the track team and was twice invited to the Penn Relays with the mile relay team. Although neither tall nor large, Don benefited from speed and strength, and also captained the Ithaca football team, playing as an offensive guard. In addition to classes and sports, he participated in theatrical productions at Ithaca, and developed an interest in ballroom dancing which he and his wife, Judy, enjoyed in to their 80's. After graduating college in 1939 he taught Chemistry and coached in the North Country, and enlisted in the Army on the invasion of Pearl Harbor. In service he was a physical trainer and later a rehabilitation specialist. On June 30, 1947 he married Julia V. Davis, an Arlington High School teacher, at St. Mary's Church in Poughkeepsie. Judy predeceased Don on November 23, 2009 after 62 years of marriage devoted to their family and the quiet practice of their faith. Don received his Masters in Education from St. Lawrence University, where he and Judy summered in a dormitory apartment while he worked as a graduate assistant and she worked in the Cole-Herring Library. They often described their low-budget graduate school experience as some of the best days of their lives. After working as an Assistant Principal at Herkimer High School, Don and Judy returned to Poughkeepsie where he became the Principal of Arlington High School in 1953. During his 25 year tenure he pioneered the high school- to-college bridge programs with Dutchess Community College and Marist College, oversaw Arlington High School's move from the building he graduated from on Dutchess Turnpike to its present location in Freedom Plains, served as Acting Superintendent of the Arlington School District, continued his graduate work at the Columbia Teachers College and was a presence at countless night and weekend dances, board meetings, games and events. In the early 1970's, when the student body protested the Vietnam War by boycotting classes, Don went out to the parking lot, took off his shoes, climbed onto the hood of a car and convinced the students to come back to their classes to discuss the issues surrounding the war. He also studied the effectiveness of academic methods and was invited to deliver his findings on the decline in SAT performance at the National Conference of Secondary School Administrators in Washington, D.C. Don served as President of the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club, a member of The St. George's School Board, the President of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, President of the Dutchess County Scholastic League, an American Cancer Society volunteer and was named an Honorary Meet Director of the Arlington Relays. Don is survived by his daughter, Rosemary, with whom he made his home, his son D. Peter and wife April of Port Ewen, and his son Jim, wife Margaret and devoted grandchildren, Caroline and James Nelson, Jr., all of Poughkeepsie. Don's brother, John D. Nelson, survives in LaGrange as do several nieces and a nephew. He was predeceased by his sisters Florence Holleran and Catherine Deissinger and his brother Martin. Calling hours will be on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home, 371 Hooker Avenue, Poughkeepsie. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, 9:45am July 1, 2010 at Holy Trinity Church, 775 Main St., Poughkeepsie, NY. Burial at St. Peter's Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Leo J. Gregg Scholarship Fund, Holy Trinity Church, 775 Main St., Poughkeepsie, NY. If you need directions or would like to leave an online condolence or to sign the guest book, you may visit www.doylefuneralhome.com.