I met Dale in Roseburg, I was there for an eye surgery. Prior to my trip I PM'd him and mentioned when I would be there. He says.. I'll buy you lunch! We met here, on T-net. We had the "my daily snapshot" thread in common.... we agreed in the political section also.
A great guy, we noticed right away. I just got the feeling, a great first impression, a genuine person. He received a few "Thank you for your service" comments. (his hat) We being (me, my wife and daughter) I have been busy and missed his post about his heart attack or I would have called him and more the likely drove the 3 hours to visit him. We had a short visit so I did not know of the extraordinary... just damn cool things he had done in his life. You can read about them in his obituary.
Dale G. Nelson | Obits | nrtoday.com
If the link doesn't work Here is a copy and paste.
Dale G. Nelson was born May 19, 1937, in Fresno, CA, to Palmer Nelson and Margaret (Foreman) Nelson. Dale grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA, graduating from high school there. He joined the Navy in 1955, serving until 1958. He attended Cal Poly in the late 50s, and then moved to Nevada to work on a ranch, and become a farrier. Following that, he led groups into the back country of the Sierra Nevada Mountains with pack horses. He moved to Oregon in the 60s, where he managed his 700 hundred acre ranch with 70 head of grade cattle. He also worked a second full time job for Roseburg Lumber until his retirement.
Dale had many hobbies that he enjoyed and excelled at, including rodeo as a young man, riding broncs and roping, and later building black powder rifles and competing in regional traditional matches with his son and grandchildren. He also enjoyed videography, metal detecting, and especially making everyone around him laugh are all only a small part of what his legacy will tell.
Dale passed away March 27, 2018, in Roseburg, OR, surrounded by family and friends. He is already terribly missed by his family and friends, and those fellow veterans that he faithfully supported through volunteer service with the American Legion, and associated veterans’ volunteer opportunities.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Vivian; daughter, Traci; and grandson, Willie. He is survived by three children, Kim, Steve, and Teri; twelve grandchildren, Tyler (TJ), Shane, Lauren, Jordan, Megan, Storm, Trevor, Ezra, Rebecca, Gunnar, Rocky, and Traci; and several great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a brother, David; several nieces and nephews;and by Vivian’s children, Carlene (and Claude), Lanny and Mark; and his three younger children’s mother, Marcella.
In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to the American Legion Post 16 in honor of his service.