Ben Nelson
1926-2001
Co-Founder of AIDC 100
Benjamin A.
Nelson, 74 died Saturday morning September
15, 2001 at his home in East Swanzey after a
battle with cancer.
He was born in
Keene October 3, 1926, son of Benjamin
Adelbert and Marion (Greenleaf) Nelson, and
graduated from Keen High School in 1944.
During World
War II, her served in the U.S. Army's 752nd
tank battalion, 88th Division in Italy. He
was a Captain in the N.H. Natinal Guard and
was recalled to active duty dure the Cuban
missle crisis in 1962.
Mr. Nelson was
the company archivist at Markem Corp. in
Keene, retiring in 1995 after 42 years with
the company. At the time of his death, he
was still serving as the company’s
archivist. As a spokesman for Markem, he
spoke to more than 300 trade associations
and universities in the United States,
Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,
and wrote many papers.
In 1985, he
received an industry award for his efforts
to introduce bar-coding at the School of
Packaging at Michigan State University. He
served on many bar-code industry boards and
in retirement consulted to that industry.
In 1995, he formed Nelson Associates,
devoted to education in automatic
identification. In 1997, Helmers Publishing
of Peterborough published his history of
the industry, “Punched Cards to Bar Codes -
A 200-Year Journey."
Mr. Nelson
enjoyed reading, many kinds of music,
woodworking, collecting and showing
antique tractors and engines, and travel.
He was also a private pilot.
Survivors
include his wife Eunice Ann (Scuf) (Parker)
Nelson whom he married May 27, 1948, a
daughter, Leslie Nelson Haines of Houston, a
son, Douglas Nelson of East Swanzey, two
grandchildren, and a niece and a nephew.
A memorial
service will be held Tuesday at 4 p.m. at
Fletcher Funeral Home and Cremation
Services, 33 Marlboro St., Keene. Burial
will be in Woodland Cemetery, Keene.
Friends may
call Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the funeral
home.
The family has
asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions
be made in Mr. Nelson’s memory either to the
American Cancer Society, in care of Norma
Jeanne Pinney, P.O. Box 87, West Swanzey
03469; or Kingsbury Center for Cancer Care,
580 Court St., Keene 03431.
A
memorial resides at the AIDC 100 library and
reads as follows:
Ben Nelson,
1926-2001, was an active and positive
presence in the AIDC industry from its
inception in the 1970’s. He was known
worldwide for his memorable seminars on the
basics of bar code symbology and printing.
In 1997, Ben
authored the important reference book
“Punched Cards
to Bar Codes.”
His humor,
warmth, kindness and integrity forged a
rock-sold lasting bond with all who knew
him.
Ben was a
co-founder of AIDC 100 in 1997 and remained
a driving, inspirational force in the
organization until his untimely passing.
He will be
sorely missed by his friends and associates.
