William "Bill" Nelson

William (Bill) Nelson, age 79 of Hampton, Minnesota died at home on May 28, 2020 with his wife Diane at his side. He was born on March 1, 1941 in Minneapolis to Walter and Frances Nelson. He began work for the railroad at the age of 15 working alongside grown men in grueling and sometimes dangerous conditions during summer breaks from high school. At the same time, he was named Middleweight Boxing Champion of Minneapolis. These were the days he would remember as he grew to appreciate hard work, but at the same time value people from all backgrounds and circumstances, which framed the rest of his life and career. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Sociology and began his career as a parole officer in Albert Lea, Minnesota. It was there that he met his wife Diane, who was a waitress at the local diner. He said many times that Diane was as close to perfection as could possibly be. They married and moved to Michigan where he completed a Masters in Social Work. He returned to Minnesota where he ran a state-wide group foster home program and later a pre-trial diversion project. In 1970 he realized his dream of buying a farm in Hampton, Minnesota and moved his family there where he lived for the next 50 years. In 1974, he found his dream job with the Volunteers of America, starting with taking over a halfway house for men leaving Federal prison which was very unpopular in the neighborhood. He worked with the community until they didn’t just accept it but endorsed it, and the program still stands today. Outside of that, he now had the opportunity to pursue his obsession – starting new initiatives to address social problems that were considered unsolvable. During these years, he was called “the Gentle Jailer”, and a “Visionary” when he started a jail program for women in the Twin Cities area, under contract from the surrounding counties. He was featured in the New York Times as the creator of the first program of its kind in the country, appeared in an episode of TPT’s “The Visionaries,” was featured in media across the country through the Associated Press, and helped thousands of women improve their lives while serving their sentences. Never short of ideas, his next project was to create a program to help women leave prostitution. The treatment approach was funded by the Minnesota legislature as a less costly and more productive response to women in abusive circumstances. He achieved the Distinguished Toastermasters award and traveled the country speaking on community solutions to prostitution. He was invited to speak at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and hosted numerous delegations from countries around the world including the Ukraine, South Africa, and Moldova. He ended his career at Volunteers of America having started the next phase of transitional housing for women recovering from the trauma and abuse of the lifestyle of prostitution. Throughout his life and career, he still maintained a working 60-acre farm, continuing to acquire more land as the years went by. He raised and inspired two grateful daughters, Cynthia and Sara, and was a beloved grandfather to Diana, Chris, and Amanda, who spent their early years on Grandpa and Grandma’s farm. He taught his grandson to drive the tractor and his family to love the land. At the time of his passing, he was actively serving as a founding board member of La Oportunidad, a community board member for Flint Hills Refinery, and was a member of the St. Mathias Parish Council. He was proud to have recently been accepted into the Roosevelt High School Hall of Fame. His last project was to write a book, “Musings of the Gentle Jailer,” a book about his life and career intended to inspire others, and that “Nothing is impossible, some things just take longer.” Just days before his passing, his daughter Cynthia helped him finish the final edits and sent it to the publisher. He is survived by his wife, Diane, daughters Cynthia (Jason) Rico and Sara Nelson, grandchildren Diana, Chris, and Amanda, brother James (Nenita) Nelson, and sister Jeanne (Bill Dennis) Nelson. Preceded in death by parents Walter and Frances Nelson, and brother Richard Nelson. A Visitation will be held Monday, June 1, 5 – 8 pm at Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel, 3075 Vermillion St., Hastings, MN. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, June 2, 11:00 am at St. Mathias Church, Hampton, MN with a visitation one hour prior to mass at church. Interment at St. Mathias Cemetery immediately following the mass.