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Paul M. Nelson, 69

Paul M. Nelson

EAST LIVERPOOL — Paul M. Nelson, 69, of Chester, died on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, at the Calcutta Health Care Center, where he had been a patient since March.

Paul was a lifelong resident of Chester, and he was born in East Liverpool, on July 9, 1947. He was a son of the late Bonevere E. Wehner Nelson and Carl E. Nelson.

For 27 years, Paul was a filtration plant operator for the city of Chester Water and Sewer Department and earlier had owned and operated P&B Sanitation.

He served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a Green Beret with the 5th Special Forces Unit, receiving two Purple Heart medals and one Bronze Star. One of his unit’s main missions was freeing captured members of the armed services from the Viet Cong.

Paul graduated from Oak Glen High School in 1966, and later from the Bell & Howell Technical College in Columbus, Ohio. He was a lifetime member of Chester’s VFW Post 6450, the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, he loved fishing, and he spent a lot of his free time hunting for gold.

His grandparents, Walter and Marie Wehner, helped raise Paul, and they preceded him in death, along with his stepmother, Dolly Nelson, and several aunts and uncles, and very recently, his sister-in-law, Judy Pryor.

Paul leaves his life partner, his beloved, devoted wife, Cindy Welch Nelson; they were married on July 21, 1973. Also surviving is his brother-in-law, Jim Pryor; his nephew, Douglas (Maureen) Pryor and their daughter, Quinn; aunts and uncles, Kay and Lew McIntosh of East Liverpool, and Dudley and Ann Wehner of Oregon, Wisc.; two half-sisters, Myra (Charlie) Striker of Richmond, Ohio, and Tina (Dave) Schoolcraft of Irondale; several cousins, including David McPherson, Kevin McIntosh and Suzanne Bertsch; and his lifelong friend of Chester, John Jordan.

Friends may visit with the family at the Arner Funeral Chapel in Chester on Saturday, June 24, from 5-8 p.m. Father Jeeson Stephan of the church will preside for a memorial Catholic Funeral Liturgy at the Sacred Heart Church on Tuesday, June 27 at 10 a.m. An additional memorial service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Saturday, July 1, at 11 a.m. with Rev. Katrina Lewis officiating.