Wilbur Norman Nelson
06/05/1925 - 10/14/2016

~~Wilbur N. Nelson, 91, of Summit passed away in his sleep at home on October 14, 2016. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at Christ Church, 561 Springfield Ave in Summit on Friday, October 21st at 11:00am. Friends are invited to visit at Bradley, Brough & Dangler, 299 Morris Ave in Summit on Thursday from 4 to 8pm. For further information or to send a condolence, please visit www.www.bradleyfuneralhomes.com.

Born in Perth Amboy, NJ, the son of Andrew and Ingeborg Nelson, Wilbur had also lived in the Fords section of Woodbridge and Edison before moving to Summit in the early 1950’s. He proudly served his country in the U. S. Navy during WWII as a Navy Corpsman (medic) . He survived a German U boat attack at Slapton Sands off the coast of England, and was in the initial landings on June 6, 1944 in the Normandy Invasion at Omaha Beach. He was later assigned to the Philippines during the liberation of those islands. A graduate of New Jersey State Teachers College, Wilbur was the principal of Brayton School in Summit for 30 years until his retirement in

1986. Having spent summers on Echo Lake in Maine since the 1930’s, it was during his time at Brayton that he purchased property on the lake and opened, built, and directed Camp Skoglund for Boys which is now operated as Camp Skoglund Family Cottages. It was his greatest joy in life. He was a past member of the Summit Board

of Education and its president in 1988 and 1989, past president of the Juvenile Conference Committee of Union County, past president of the Rotary Club of Summit as well as a recipient of the Shuart Reed

Award for Distinguished Community Service from the Summit Area YMCA. Wilbur was also active for many years at Christ Church in Summit – teaching Sunday School and serving on many committees.

Wilbur was the beloved and devoted father to Rondi Nelson. He was the cherished uncle of Janet Nelson, Carol Sue Nelson and Douglas Nelson. He is also survived by many loving relatives and his faithful four-legged companion Rufus. A special thanks to family friend Karl Thomason.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Wilbur’s memory may be made to the Wilbur Nelson Educational Scholarship Fund ℅ SAPF (Summit Area Public Foundation) PO Box 867 Summit, NJ 07902.


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