CSM, USA (Ret) Robert "Bob" James Nelson entered rest on Friday, October 20, 2017 at the age of 74.

Bob leaves behind his wife, Barbara, of 51 years; his sons, Bob Jr.; Brian; and Brad; his daughters, Beth; Brandi; BreAnn; Jackie; and Esha; in addition to their spouses and 11 grandchildren. He was preceded in passing by his third son, Brook.

After serving in the U.S. Army for 30 years, Bob and Barbara moved to Alaska in 1993, where they immediately knew they were home.

During his 30 years in the Army, he was a broadcast journalist for much of his career while serving two combat tours in Vietnam and then as an advisor during Operations Desert Shield and Storm.

Following 9/11, he volunteered and was deployed to New York City four times to counsel veterans and first-responders through his nationally recognized PTSD programs. He again volunteered to deploy and assist after Hurricane Katrina while serving Alaska for 23 years with the Veterans Resource Center.

During Bob's time with the Vet Center, he developed support programs for both active duty and family members at both Fort Richardson and Elmendorf AFB along with veterans at the Anchorage Correctional Facility. He was instrumental in assisting local and state governments to advocate for veterans issues and you would always see Bob as he spoke at Veteran's and Memorial Day ceremonies for most of his career in Anchorage. One of his proudest accomplishments was his pivotal role as one of the organizers of Stand Down Alaska, a nationally based organization recognized as the most valuable outreach tool to help homeless veterans in the nation today.

Bob made an enormous impact and touched the lives of countless people in the community through his unwavering commitment to serving veterans and their families. Bob was often referred to as "hero" and everyone that knew Bob felt his passion for taking care of people and knew that there was nothing that he wouldn't do to help. He will be immensely missed by his family and friends all over the world and his impact and commitment to Alaska will continue to be felt for generations.

Memorial service was held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017,

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be directed in his name to Stand Down Alaska, PO Box 92135, Anchorage, Alaska, 99509-2135.