Death of Arlan Prescott Nelson

Arlan Prescott Nelson, age 88, of Berrien Springs, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at Corewell Health Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph, MI, after a short illness.

Arlan was born in Nicollet, Minnesota, on September 20, 1935. Due to nerve damage during the birthing process, Arlan was born deaf and could not benefit from a hearing device. When he was four or five years old, Arlan attended a special school for the deaf in Kalamazoo, MI, where he was taught the ABC’s, how to lip read well enough to communicate with the family and teachers, and how to read. After two years he returned to Berrien Springs, MI, and was a student on the campus of Emmanuel Missionary College, (now Andrews University) attending Elementary School, the Academy, and two years of College.

When he finished those two years of college, he began to work as a line-o-type operator setting type for the Emmanuel Missionary College Press. After working there a short time, he was offered a position doing the same work for a printing company in Benton Harbor, MI, which he did for many years until the company relocated to another state. When the bindery closed, Arlan worked with his brother, Perry, on their farm. Perry was Arlan’s guardian for his last 36 years.