May 30 proclaimed as Commissioner Blair Nelson Day in Waseca County

A year ago, Waseca County lost a tall figure in the community. His legacy has not quickly been forgotten.

Blair Nelson died of a heart attack on May 30, 2023 at the age of 65. To honor him on the one year anniversary of his death, the Waseca County Board of Commissioners voted to proclaim May 30, 2024 as Blair Nelson Day in the county at its May 21 meeting.

“I think it’s very appropriate to remember Commissioner Nelson upon the anniversary of his passing and to honor his family with that remembrance,” Commissioner De Malterer said.

Nelson was elected to the Waseca County Board of Commissioners in 2010 and served until his death in 2023. At the time of his death, he served as the chair of the board.

Before and during his time on the board, Nelson volunteered and participated on a number of other boards and commissioners and served as a licensed Realtor for RE/MAX.

Nelson and his wife of 39 years Deanne had three children and five grandchildren. Nelson loved to spend time with his family and his time with them meant a lot to him.

Nelson was a fan of baseball and Waseca sports and dedicated his time to coaching and umpiring on top of his work, family and public service.

His contributions as a Commissioner in Waseca County included initiating the purchase of a weed harvester to bring Clear lake back to recreational use for the community and being a part of the Waseca County Veterans Memorial project.

As part of the resolution to proclaim May 30 as Blair Nelson Day, flags will be flown at half-staff in the county in honor of his memory and the courthouse will display lights of blue and gold in the evening in remembrance of Nelson’s great love of Waseca athletics. This was done right after his passing as well.

The resolution was approved unanimously by the board of commissioners, with Malterer bringing up that she would like the county to consider having the day of remembrance be a yearly thing.

Malterer and Commissioner Doug Christopherson shared their feelings about the proclamation and Nelson. They both agreed that the day of remembrance is a necessity, especially since he was active on the board at the time of his passing.

“I think one of the things that makes this particularly appropriate is the fact that Commissioner Nelson was actively serving when he passed away, and of course this is a recent loss for all of us here in the community and on our board,” said Malterer.

“This past year has been a complete year of remembrance of how he commissioned and we’ve had a lot of laughs because we knew exactly how Blair would have answered certain questions or certain things that got brought up,” Christopherson added about Nelson. “He served his community well and I think this is appropriate.”