Donald G Nelson

Don Nelson, 80, of St. Charles, IL passed away peacefully on the morning of August 28. He was born August 18, 1942 in Chicago, IL, the son of George Nelson and Bernice (Weidling) Nelson. He was united in marriage to Alice (Lenzen) Nelson October 9, 1994 in Lake Tahoe, CA. Don attended junior high school, high school, and college in Rockford, IL graduating with a B.S. in Finance from Rockford College. Upon graduation, Don started out as a salesman in Rockford and then Chicago serving in a variety of sales roles. He was a salesman for Pioneer Screw and Nut as well as a fastener company and later owned a ceiling fan store installing fans for businesses and their production facilities. In the late 1990s Don and his business partner Roland Treiber devised a unique new idea - an innovative ‘marker’ pole system for fire hydrants which enabled snowplows, mowers, and maintenance crews to easily see and safely navigate around hundreds of thousands of fire hydrants. Not only did they patent the system, but it was also a commercial hit with municipalities across the U.S. and proved so popular that it was later adapted for airport runway lights and myriad other use cases.

With his love for mechanics, Don sketched the product out and found suppliers and manufacturers to produce it. He spent 20 years perfecting the marker, driving from business to business to introduce it, and later, sold it almost exclusively online through the power of the internet. The ‘marker’ was just one of many products RoDon Corp offered to meet an unmet need and Don was always happiest when he was creating, designing, and tinkering.

During college Don worked part-time at a gas station/service center and developed a love of cars and motors. Throughout his life he was an avid motorsport fan and owned and enjoyed driving his various motorcycles and cars. He was also an excellent marksman and a proud member of the Aurora Sportsmen’s Club.

Don is preceded in death by both his mother and father. He is survived by his beloved wife Alice, a daughter, Lorelei (Lenzen) Skillman, a son, Mitchell Lenzen, and a sister Gail (Nelson) Gunnink and her partner, YoungSoo Cho.

A Celebration of Don's Life will be held at a later date.