Charles Samuel Nelson

Charles Samuel Nelson (Chuck), 83, passed away suddenly at his home in Littleton CO. on March 17, 2015. Above all, Chuck loved the Lord and his Catholic faith, his family, and the Broncos. Chuck's love of basketball started at an early age. In fact he and his friends would shovel snow off the court in order to play. He attended Winslow High School where he was a member of the infamous Winslow Eskimos basketball team that won the 1950 regional. It reminded all of us of the movie ""The Hoosiers."" He was a graduate of Winslow High School Class of 1950. He moved to Denver to attend Denver University (DU) on a basketball scholarship. He received a Bachelor's of Arts Degree from DU in Physical Education with a minor in Biological Sciences. Chuck served two years in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Camp Zama in Okinawa, Japan where he was a Corporal First Class, served in the Honor Guard and played point guard on the military basketball team. He called it the ""Little Pentagon"" since there were so many Generals and Officers stationed there and all the amenities. After serving his country he worked at DuPont Conoco for 25 years as a divisional sales manager. He also worked in sales and management positions for Firestone and A & E Tire. Swimming was also a favorite sport of Chuck's. He started swimming at a very young age and he and friends would swim in the coal mine pits, which he remembered as the ""prettiest"" water. They would jump off the bridge into the raging waters, as logs floated by them - no matter the danger. He was a true athlete and an avid golfer and played almost every week. He won many golf tournaments including club championships. He had three hole-in-ones and shot under his age for several years, including two rounds of ""66."" He was also loved to garden and his tomatoes and cucumbers were legendary. Chuck was a generous soul to all he met. He married Rose Mary Zahn, his lifelong love of 41 years, on March 30, 1974. They have two children, Rick (Christine) Nelson of Tampa FL., and Mike (Marion) Nelson of Brunswick, GA. and 10 grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his son Scott Nelson, parents Robert & Stella Nelson and siblings Paul, Kenny, Pauline, Lucille, and Margarite. Rosary will be at Horan & McConaty, 3101 S. Wadsworth at 4:00 p.m. on March 29. Funeral Mass on March 30, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Littleton, CO. Military rites and burial will be conducted at Fort Logan National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made to: Little Sisters of the Poor, 3629 W. 29th Ave. Denver, CO. 80211 or littlesistersofthepoordenver.org Or Capuchin Poor Clares, 3325 Pecos Street, Denver, CO 80211 capuchinpoorclares.org