Newspaper Article 1937 – Obituary – Mr Lionel Nelson

OBITUARY

MR. LIONEL NELSON

In our last issue we recorded with regret the death of Mr Lionel Nelson, chairman and managing-director of Jas J. Niven and Co., Ltd, engineers, through blood poisoning, while on a business visit to Suva, Fiji.

The late Mr Nelson was the sixth and youngest son of the late Mr William Nelson of Tomoana. Born of his father’s second marriage, he was a grandson of the first Bishop of Waiapu. He was born at “Waikoko” in 1885. After receiving his education at the Wanganui Collegiate School he went to the Old Country, where he took an engineering course at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. On returning to New Zealand in 1907, he joined Niven’s of which firm he became managing-director six years later.

In 1908 he married the elder daughter of Mr and Mrs T. Mason Chambers, of Havelock North, making his home in Napier South, in the vicinity of the now motorists’ camp site. Upon his appointment to the directorate of his firm he moved to Wellington, where he has since resided.

There are left a widow, four sons – Mr Hugh Nelson, an engineer, who was returning from Europe by the Niagara and who was intercepted at Suva; Mr Dudley Nelson, an officer in the Royal Air Force; Mr Guy Nelson, farming in New Zealand; and Master Michael Nelson, still at School, – and two daughters – Dr Beatrice Nelson and Miss Kathleen Nelson, of Wellington.

The late Mr Nelson left Wellington recently on a combined business and pleasure trip to the South Sea Islands. He was accompanied by his wife. Apparently he was suddenly stricken with blood-poisoning while at Suva and died almost immediately. The interment was to have taken place at Suva yesterday afternoon.