Ronald Nelson

Ron passed away on May 22, 2026 from complications from a heart attack. He’s survived by his wife Teresa, sons Corey and Aaron, his siblings Sandra, Bob and Phyllis, many loving in-laws and pets Gus the cat and Linus the dog. He was born to Ruth Stokes Nelson and Robert L. Nelson in 1958 in Palo Alto, CA. He loved baseball and competition and joined a little league team early on. He also developed a deep passion for history in his youth. He graduated from U.C. Davis with a bachelors degree in American History to his parents’ dismay. Although they were convinced he’d never find work with a history degree, he moved to Southern California immediately after graduation hoping to write for television.

After his move to L.A., he began to work as a research assistant for Bob Guenette Productions (where he interned as an undergrad). With Bob Guenette’s mentoring he quickly realized his dream of becoming a television writer working mainly on historical documentaries. His writing credits include: “Golf: Heroes of the Game” where he interviewed some of golf’s great legends such as Arnold Palmer and Byron Nelson. He also wrote and researched “Little Ice Age, Big Chill” detailing the affects of the “mini” temperature drop that happened starting in the 1300’s and which had a huge impact on the world. He was particularly proud of a series he wrote called “America: Facts vs. Fiction” which took a light-hearted look at American History. He was hoping this would be a way to teach the “woefully uninformed youth” of today about our country’s fascinating past. He also wrote episodes of “Modern Marvels”, “Biblical Disasters”, and “Only a Miracle” which detailed the many miraculous healings that have happened through faith, as well as many other television series. Most recently he wrote the documentary “Charles: In His Own Words” about the life of King Charles and a mini documentary series about the Pilgrims to be aired at the National Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachussetts. He was proud to detail the deep Christian faith of our first citizens. He also wrote a couple screenplays. One was even sold to Universal Studios and was to star Pierce Brosnan, but sadly never got produced.

Soon after his move to Los Angeles, he joined an entertainment league softball team that he continued up until his heart attack. His “nerdy” (as they liked to call themselves) softball buddies became an important part of his life from then on. As a group, they branched out into other nerdy games including poker, mini golf, bowling and foot golf (yes, it’s a thing). Of course Ron mastered them all and always loved a good contest.

Teresa and Ron met on a co-ed softball team in 1992 and married a year and a half later. Although Ron tried to hone Teresa’s softball skills, her pathological fear of the ball got in the way. But they did share a love for Scrabble, crossword puzzles, movies with happy endings and lakeside picnics.

By far his greatest accomplishment, however, was his extraordinary parenting of Corey and Aaron, teaching them everything from riding a bike, to making funny voices, to being an honest, hard-working Christian man. He encouraged them to find a job that you love regardless of the pay and to always laugh at yourself. He was a perfect model of humility and humor and a faithful and loving husband to Teresa for 33 years. Ron will be most remembered for his spot on imitation of Hans Gruber from the movie “Die Hard”, his distaste for wearing anything but shorts, T-shirts and tennis shoes, his hilarious Christmas treasure hunt poems, and his selfless love for his family.