Bernard Elliott Nelson

Bernard Elliott Nelson was born on June 16, 1954 to Ramona and Thomas Bernard Nelson, Jr. in Baltimore, MD.  His grandparents, Phoebe and Thomas Bernard Nelson, Sr. adopted him after his parents separated.

Growing up, he attended St. Katherine's Episcopal Church where he served as an altar boy.  He was educated in Baltimore City Public Schools and graduated from Frederick Douglass High School.  He went on to earn an Associate's Degree from the Community College of Baltimore.  After deciding to pursue a career as a mechanic, he took courses at Lincoln Tech and was ASE certified.

He and Joanne Powell married in 1987.  He became a father when his son James Bernard was born in 2002.

Bernard followed current events and financial news-"American Greed" intrigued him.

Because Bernard was a Trekkie and a fan of James Bond films, it was the basis for a wide range of interests.

As a result, his favorite Smithsonian Museum was Air and Space. He appreciated the astronomer Carl Sagan and watched his series and NOVA on PBS.

He not only enjoyed watching cartoons including "The Pink Pather," he paid attention to the music of Vince Guaraldi from "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

His cultural appreciation was such that he was pleased when he heard that Bob Dylan had been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, when favorite films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "The Godfather" were added to the National Film Registry and when the "Twilight Zone" was honored with a U.S. postage stamp.

Bernard was the first to notice the USS Enterprise Hallmark ornament celebrating the 25th anniversary of "Star Trek."  Over the years, he collected all or most of them every season.

Bernard is survived by his wife, Joanne, his son James, his niece Mesha Murrill and her husband Elridge (Ned), his goddaughter Mia Jimenez, her husband Luis and sons Timothy and Micah, a brother, Thomas Orlando Nelson, sisters Lori Nelson and Zsavita Banks,sisters-in-law Emma Bennett, Claudia Williams, Constance Powell and numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and a host of other family members and friends.