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Light a Candle
Phillip G. Nelson, MD, PhD died of natural causes on April 22, 2021 at the age of 89 with his wife Karin at his side. A longtime researcher into brain development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he inspired family and friends with his personal integrity, intellectual curiosity, dedication to productive work, gentle humor, respect for others, awareness that every problem can be appreciated from different perspectives, and above all, his belief in the transcendent power of love.
Phillip was born on December 3, 1931 in Albert Lea, MN, the youngest of three sons of Conrad A. Nelson and Calla Gillard Nelson. He spent his boyhood in western South Dakota in or near Indian reservations, where his father worked as an agent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and his mother, a conservatory-trained pianist, taught music. In 1949, Phillip enrolled at the University of Minnesota where, a year later, he met the love of his life, Karin, in English class (literature being a shared passion). The two migrated together to the University of Chicago, where both completed medical school and Phillip earned a PhD in neurophysiology. They were married in 1955.
After a one-year medical internship at the University of Pennsylvania, Phillip began a career in the intramural program at the NIH in Bethesda, MD, where he would eventually become Chief of the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology. Much of his research focused on understanding how experience shapes the development of the nervous system and how synapses function. He contributed to many significant advances in the fields of neurophysiology and cell culture biology, publishing more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Perhaps as important is the legacy of his mentorship in the careers of many dozens of trainees, of whom he was particularly proud.
Phillip was a voracious reader of history, philosophy, and literature. He expressed himself in poetry (he wrote sensitive, insightful poems for nearly every occasion) and through countless handmade labors of love. He generated wood and/or leather projects, inscribed with India ink. The perception in the family is that he had 4 favorite children and 11 favorite grandchildren. Phillip is survived by Karin Dermansly Becker Nelson, MD, his wife of 66 years; children Sarah Elizabeth Nelson Hammack (Thomas), Rebecca Judith Nelson (Jonathan Miller), Jennifer Becker Nelson Walker (Arthur), and Peter Tobias Nelson (Deborah); brother retired USAF colonel Craig Warren Nelson; brother-in-law Joseph Becker; and grandchildren: Eleanor Olivia Hammack, William Nelson Miller, Arthur Jacob Walker, Benjamin Nelson Miller, Rosemary Matthea Hammack, Lily Madeline Walker, Ruth Santiago Nelson, Bela Grace Nelson, Abraham Sutter Nelson, Jesse Nelson Walker, and Tess Dermansly Nelson. He was predeceased by his brother, Chrys Milo Nelson.
A memorial celebration of Phillip’s life will be held via Zoom on May 23rd, at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. Please join us via this link. (URL:https://uky.zoom.us/j/84761068617)
Donations in Phillip's name can be sent to Oglala Lakota College at this link (URL: http://olc.edu/generosity/generosity.htm)
