Captain II, Fire Station 33-C
Deceased:
May 18, 2019
Appointed:
04/01/1957
Pensioned:
06/30/2007 – FS 33C
Details about the memorial service
Donations:
IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, PLEASE SEND DONATIONS TO:
Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’s Fund
PO BOX 41903
Los Angeles, CA 90041
robert gladden says
together 2 years at ‘fire city’. a good man
Kevin Kearns says
I met Captain Nelson as a young boy, he would come by the house to visit my father. Years later I was his relief at Fire Station 46. He had SO much energy. He would take any call anytime. He invented the “Jack of Life”, which he kept on the Engine and it actually worked quite well. When John made Capt.II I again got to work with him a few times and again he was still full of energy and loved working at Fire Station 33. I asked him one time have you ever considered working at a slower station, and John said I would go crazy, I need the activity. He was amazing.
My condolences to the Nelson family. RIP Captain John Nelson
Trevor Richmond says
I drove John as an AO at FS 102 for about five years. I was fortunate to have been there as a task force and eventually it became a light force only. I have to say he was one of the calmest officers on the fire ground that I even worked with. He had built a great team at 102’s and we were very fortunate to have him as our Captain. My condolences to Dianne and his children…RIP Cap.
Chuck Butler says
John was a class act. I never worked with him but I remember late in his career when he wanted to go back to 33’s before he retired. I was coming out of Special Duty and John heard through the grapevine that I wanted to go to 33’s also. He called me to chat about it and I couldn’t talk him into putting in for it even though he had way more seniority. He was adamant that a guy coming out of Special Duty should get his choice of spots. That is the old school, selfless attitude that John possessed. My condolences to his family. RIP John.
Mike Littleton says
I met John when we were both transferred into “new” 33’s on the A shift in the early 70’s when the station opened. He was an Engineer who loved being on the engine (rather than the pump) because the Engine was so busy. I was assigned to the truck and starting a study program for the Auto-Fireman exam when John saw that I was not very well organized in my approach to studying for the written exam and made some suggestions in terms of time spent in various Dept. manuals versus operational manuals and other reference material. John’s suggestions worked out well for me in the written portion of the process and I will be forever thankful to him for taking interest in a young Fireman who really needed guidance in organizing a study program. We kept in touch after I changed assignments due to a couple of promotions and one day I got a call from John when I was working at FS 41 as an Engineer. He said “Seagrave has a couple of ladder trucks ready for delivery and they need someone to drive ‘em out to California from Greenbay,Wisconsin.” I said “Count me in”’ and that was the beginning of great adventure and lots of stories that John and I laughed about for years.
God Bless you, John. You’ve entered into well deserved rest.
Tom Ottman says
As a young firefighter in the early 80’s, I would work SOD with John at FS 33. Twenty plus years later, in the mid 2000’s, I would work SOD with John at FS 33. In the 2000’s, I would tell John that it was as if I had entered a time machine when we worked together, nothing had changed with the exception that he had replaced coffee and cigarettes with exercise and health food. I used to enjoy listening to him tell me stories about his family and his trips to Las Vegas with his wife. John loved the LAFD and set a great example for the rest of us to follow. My condolences to his family….RIP Cap
Pat Shanley says
John and I were reliefs as Captain I’s at Fire Station 33 in the early 1980’s. We worked together again in Battalion 14 when he was assigned to Fire Station 102 in the early 2000’s. In the intervening years he had given up his ever present cigarette & coffee cup and started exercising seriously. At incidents and around the fire station, John was solid and kept control of things. Toward the end of his career John transferred back to Fire Station 33 where he finished his half century career with the LAFD. John was one of only a literal handful of members to serve 50 years with the LAFD. A long and successful career (busy assignments and no special duty). A long and happy marriage (61 years). You did good John! R.I.P.
John Kitchens says
John was the engineer on E227, my first assignment out of the tower, along with Dan Henry as one of the other firefighters. Dan “What’s the deal” helped me to understand john’s approach and training routine. John provided support for this rookie firefighter, along with Dan, helping me to fit into the LAFD coming from the Air Force FD. I can’t imagine a better start, as John provided leadership for both me and our new Captain, Phil Williams. Thank you John, and you too , Dan, as well as OJ Arne. Tradition then was a 5 man engine company. RIP John.
William Browne says
I met Captain Nelson when he was the Captain 1 at 33’s. My old man was the Captain 2. With Henry driving him, Bill “Dirt” Whitcher and Earl “The Fang” Boyd on the tailboard, that triple was a force to be reckoned with. Remembered by all who worked with him for creating the Jack of Life (for those who never saw it, it was an old school car bumper jack with tabs welded on the hook, and secured on the engine with a ladder strap). When he retired every junkyard in the city finally was able to keep bumper jacks in stock.
Too many stories to tell!
RIP Ned. Tell dad and Monty I said hi, and I’ll see them soon.