David Joe Nelson died at Kavanagh House in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 20, 2026, of pancreatic cancer. He was 84.

Born April 28, 1942, in Cherokee, Iowa, to Joe and Ruth Nelson, David graduated from Cherokee High School in 1960. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Harvard College in 1964, part of its first class made up of more public high school than prep school graduates.

After a North American tour with his college glee club, David began his career in business at Irving Trust in New York City. In November 1965 he married Jean Wells in Waynesboro, Virginia. From 1966 to 1968 they lived near Boston, and David earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, focusing on agribusiness and finance.

The couple moved to Humboldt, Iowa, where David was founding CFO of Farmegg Products, which established Iowa as a major producer of eggs in the United States, and their first two children were born. In 1973, the family moved to Des Moines, where he became CFO of Iowa Paint. David started DJ Nelson & Co, a business brokerage and consultancy which became Nelson Equity Development, and two more children were born.

David ordered his life to live by justice, kindness, and humility. He found ways to support and serve each community where he lived: Junior Achievement in New York City, the Youth Law Center in Des Moines, as well as the YMCA of Greater Des Moines, where he worked to improve downtown homeless services and to raise money for an Olympic-size community pool. He led the board of retirement community Plymouth Place for 20 years, where he oversaw a multimillion-dollar renovation. At Plymouth UCC in Des Moines, he sang in the Chancel Choir for 53 years, served on many committees and in the peer-to-peer Stephen Ministry, and spent years on the Iowa Conference of the UCC as well as the UCC’s national Boards.

David is survived by his wife, Jean Nelson; siblings Jim Nelson and Libby Miller; children Anne, Bill, and Mary Nelson and her partner Brian Lapis; son-in-law, Jason Pontin; grandchildren Alonzo and Ada Pontin; and many beloved in-laws, cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, and his son Joe.

A memorial service will be held Thursday, May 28, at 3 PM at Plymouth UCC in Des Moines. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the United Church of Christ, the YMCA of Greater Des Moines, or Plymouth UCC. You may also wish to donate your time and skills in your community, or find another way to help a friend or a stranger in need.