Richard "Ric" Poole Nelson, 1946-2024
Ric and his brothers Roy and Peter
Richard Poole Nelson
Ric, second from right, with the Space Shuttle Endeavour
Richard ("Ric") Poole Nelson passed away peacefully on November 20, 2024, in Sterling, Virginia, as a result of cancer that had returned after an earlier bout in 2018.
Ric is survived is by his daughters Kimberly Tiner, Christy Sprinkle and Jackie Weltman; seven grandchildren; his older brother Peter Nelson, with whom he resided for the past seven years of his life; and nephews Blake Nelson and Seth Nelson, and niece Brooke Nelson. Ric is predeceased by his younger brother Roy Nelson, who passed away in 2023, and his former wife Peggy Blankenship, who died in 2008.
Ric was the son of Robert and Mildred Nelson and was born in Queens, New York in on August 11, 1946. Ric was raised and attended school in Wantagh, New York.
Ric decided to join the military in 1963 and enlisted in the Navy that same year as an aviation mechanic. He served two combat tours of duty on aircraft carriers off the coast of Vietnam and various other stateside assignments. Ric left the Navy after 10 years and spent a year as a civilian before re-enlisting in the Air Force. He served as an aviation mechanic on A-10 Warthogs for another 10 years both overseas and in the United States.
Following his 20 years serving his country honorably in war and peace, Ric retired from the military and found his way to NASA as a quality control technician on the Space Shuttle in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Following his retirement from NASA in the early 1990's Ric moved to Melbourne, Florida where he resided until 2018 when he moved to Sterling, Virginia to reside with his brother Peter until his passing on in 2024.
Ric was a true patriot and cherished time serving his country with the US Navy and US Air Force.