Willis Nelson

Willis (Willie) H. Nelson

Resident of Los Altos

Willie Nelson, renowned field geologist and world explorer, passed away Sept. 26, 2010, age 89, from complications following surgery. Willie lived in Los Altos and was also a~42-year Palo Alto resident. He was born Dec. 2, 1920 in Three Forks, Montana. After obtaining an engineering degree from Montana State College, Bozeman, he joined the U.S. Army in June, 1944 for service in the Pacific during WW-II (Co. D, 165th Infantry). Willie rose to sergeant and was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained while invading Okinawa.

After military separation in April 1946, Willie attended graduate school at the Univ. Wash., Seattle. On March 21, 1948 Willie married Evelyn Ruth Smith of nearby Kent. Following his M.S. in Geology thesis research on volcanic rocks of Utah he was hired in 1949 by the U.S. Geological Survey for a lifelong career that he loved.

His field work took him to mountains of Appalachia, the Rockies, Washington Cascades, Alaska Brooks Range, and Indonesia. Willie fulfilled his childhood dreams when he explored the most remote regions of Alaska and Antarctica, where he was among the first explorers to map unnamed areas. Nelson Peak in the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica now honors his work. Results of his many field mapping projects are published in USGS reports and maps, as well as scientific journals. Willie retired from the U.S.G.S. in 1985 and enjoyed retirement for ~25 years.

Willie and his wife loved to dance. They belonged to local square-dance and ballroom-dance groups in Palo Alto and Redwood City. He was profoundly inquisitive, loved learning, and sharing his vast knowledge with others. His good nature, warm heart, and sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife Evelyn, of Los Altos; daughter Nancy Moody of Watsonville; sons William Nelson of Santa Cruz, and James Nelson of Sunnyvale; and by two grandchildren and one great grandchild. Memorial pending late Oct. 2010.