Paul J. Nelson, 66, of Carver died unexpectedly after a long illness on September 12. His final days were spent among family and friends. He is survived by his wife Lydia (Fermano), mother Evelyn of Plymouth, children Lydia D. of Austin, Texas, son Joseph of Carver, sisters Carol Allison of Grove City, PA, Janet Nelson and Linda Goreham of Danvers, MA. He was preceded in death by his father Joseph F. Nelson of Lynnfield, MA.

Paul was born in Massachusetts, and spent his childhood living in Pennsylvania, Kansas, Illinois and finally Lynnfield, MA. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bridgewater State College and taught middle school science and math at Uxbridge Public Schools for many years. More recently, Paul taught classes at Quincy College. As a young adult he bicycled from Lynnfield all over Boston metro, in particular to concerts from musicians like Janis Ian and some little known actor named “Freddie Mercury” in Jesus Christ Superstar, and decades later took his children to see Paul McCartney. He had a passion for Marx trains and muscle cars, including his long-lost and lamented Mustang. Paul was an avid roadtripper to Cooperstown, NY and Orlando, FL; NASA space camp in Huntsville, AL; the Grand Canyon; dinosaur trail parks in the Dakotas and Montana; Lost River Cave in Bowling Green, KY, and many places in between. He was self-taught at guitar and piano, and self-sufficient at camp sites thanks to the Boy Scouts. He enjoyed Texas barbeque, ‘70s folk music, watching Boston sports teams’ championship runs, winning at Scrabble, and being the house with king-size candy bars on Halloween. He was known for supporting his children’s POG, Pokémon, and Magic the Gathering habits and 10 rescue cats and dogs over the span of 30 years.

The family would like to thank the numerous healthcare providers who supported Paul over the years. Paul’s last act was donating bone and tissue that could be used for children who, like him, are born with cleft palates. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Smile Train or your local animal rescue organization.