Aubrey O. Nelson Jr.
Aubrey O. Nelson Jr., a World War II veteran and retired navigator for United Airlines, died April 20 in Palo Alto following a brief illness. He was 87.
Born in Chicago, Mr. Nelson’s family moved to Portland, Oregon, where he grew up. He attended San Mateo Community College and Stanford University in the early 1940s, his family said.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was trained as a navigator and flew on many bombing missions over Germany in B-24 planes. He was shot down in 1944 and spent a year in prison camp Stalag Luft III.
After the war, Mr. Nelson returned to Palo Alto where he met and married Dr. Marcia Miller. The couple lived in Menlo Park’s Suburban Park neighborhood for 14 years, and then moved to Atherton.
Mr. Nelson was a navigator for United Airlines for over 25 years, retiring when navigators were replaced by computers. Family members say he was a tinkerer and a thinker who was always trying to figure out a better way to do things, and he was passionate about old wooden powerboats.
His wife died nine years ago. He is survived by his children Dr. Peter Nelson and Katherine Nelson, both of Menlo Park; four grandsons; and companion June Robbins of Healdsburg.
No memorial service is planned. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations be made to the American Lung Association or the donor’s favorite charity.
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