Bob Nelson Sr., started Melville-based engineering firm, dies at 96

Long Island was a booming architectural market after World War II, and Bob Nelson Sr. saw the opportunity to carve out his legacy.

Not wanting to have to answer to a boss, Nelson started his own civil engineering and surveying firm, Risso, Nelson and Associates, which he cofounded in 1954.

The Melville-based firm, which later changed its name to Nelson & Pope, still serves land developers and institutional and municipal clients, said Bob Nelson Jr., Nelson’s son and a senior partner at the firm.

"It was basically his baby," said Bob Nelson Jr., 69, of East Northport. "He brought it up, he watched it mature."

Bob Nelson Sr., a father of three who lived in Melville for 61 years, died Oct. 22 at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, his family said. He was 96.

"He was an excellent engineer and surveyor," said former partner Victor Bert, 74, of East Northport. "We worked on hundreds of projects all over Long Island. He had a quick and somewhat dry wit, but [had a] stoic demeanor. Everyone respected and liked him."

Bert continued: "We were kind of in a good place at the right time. Long Island was really booming and there was a tremendous amount of land development work taking place, which we did quite a bit of."

As the firm took off in the late 1950s and early '60s, it worked on The Villages in Melville, Levitt & Sons projects in Brookhaven, and the Syosset industrial park, Bob Nelson Jr. said.

"Our services were in demand, we did a good job, and we expanded," said former partner Hank Pope, 93, of Florida. "We started basically with three guys and some referrals and we built on from there."

The firm and its affiliates have close to 100 employees, Bob Nelson Jr. said.

Born March 24, 1924, at Norwegian Hospital in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Bob Nelson Sr. grew up in Valley Stream. He was a speedy outfielder on the Valley Stream Central High School baseball team in the early 1940s, garnering some looks from professional scouts. He ultimately decided that entering the minor leagues was not the career path he wanted to pursue, Bob Nelson Jr. said.

After graduating high school in 1942, Bob Nelson Sr. was in his first year at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn when he was drafted into the Army. He served for the remainder of World War II, never seeing active combat but using his map reading skills as a Jeep driver with the Headquarters Company of the 220 Armored Engineers Brigade in Central Europe — Rhineland, his son said.

Following the war, Bob Nelson Sr. returned to the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He reentered the Army in 1951 as a second lieutenant in the Reserves and was stationed in Whittier, Alaska, as a resident engineer for the construction of a military facility during the Korean War. He was discharged in 1952, his son said.

Bob Nelson Sr. was an avid golfer and was a member of the Huntington Crescent Club for more than 50 years. He continued to golf until he was 95, his son said.

"He was still in search of the perfect swing," his son said.

In addition to his son, Bob Nelson Sr. is survived by daughter Debi Flader of Missouri; son Jeff Nelson of North Carolina; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Jean.

Nelson was cremated and will be interred at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn on Friday morning, his son Bob said.