Chester E. Nelson, Jr.

Chester E. Nelson, Jr., 77, Bismarck, died September 27, 2016, at his home. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 5, at 10:00 AM at First Baptist Church in Bismarck with Rev. Don Schmid officiating. Burial will be at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, October 5, at Lakeview Cemetery in rural Kenmare. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Chester was born on February 17, 1939, in rural Kenmare, ND, the son of Amy (Ekstrom) and Chester E. Nelson Sr. He grew up in rural Kenmare on a farm and attended a one-room rural school in Kandiyohi Township. Chester graduated from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks with a degree in accounting in 1961. He then passed the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) exam and worked for Edward W. Brady and Co., CPAs in Grand Forks until 1965 when he accepted the position of ND Legislative Assemblies Legislative Budget Analyst and Auditor. He served in that position of 35 years before his retirement in 2000. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving legislative fiscal officer in the United States. Chester was past-president of the ND State Board of Accountancy, past-president of the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Officers, past-president of the ND Trapshooting Association, and past-president of the State of ND Historical Society. He served as the ND Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) delegate from 1988 through 2003. His duties included serving on the ATA board of directors and representing North Dakota at the World Trapshooting Championships in Vandalia, OH, every August. An avid photographer, he took many photographs for the national magazine, Trap & Field, including five that were featured on the magazine cover over the years. He published a book of his photographs in 2008, “Trapshooting in North Dakota: A Five Decade Photographic History”. He was also a member of the ND Trapshooting Association Hall of Fame. Chester received the University of North Dakota Sioux Award in 1981, the highest honor presented to UND alumni and friends. He has had a life-long interest in history, especially of North Dakota and frontier history. He was a collector of historical photographs with an emphasis in North Dakota frontier military history. He was also interested in photography, especially wildlife photography, and in 2006 published a book of his wildlife photographs, “North Dakota Wildlife Photos: Prairie Excitement”. Chester is survived by one brother, Harlan; two sisters, Joan (Don) Hammer and Marjorie Nelson; two nieces, Jennifer and Brenda (David); two great-nephews, Austin and Conner; and two great-nieces, Melanie and Amelea. He was preceded in death by his parents, Chester and Amy Nelson.