Alan A. Nelson was born in Aurora and graduated from West Aurora High School where he was a champion debater and the valedictorian of his class. He went to Harvard College where he received an A.B. degree cum laude and then received an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School. His business career was in financial services, part of it spent on Wall Street. His area of expertise was strategic planning. Throughout his life, he was an enthusiastic, worldwide traveler. Mr. Nelson was a longtime board member of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and the Boston Lyric Opera. He was a generous benefactor of Harvard College and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The New England Congregational Church is the beneficiary of his fund, which was endowed on the occasion of Mr. Nelson’s 80th birthday.