Kenneth John Nelson, 76, of Rockford, IL died peacefully Sunday evening, May 24, 2009 in Provena Cor Mariae following a year long, courageous battle against pancreatic cancer. Ken was born July 13, 1932 in DeKalb, IL the son of Floyd and Gladys (Wallin) Nelson. He married Karen Pape on June 8, 1989 in Florida. Ken was the founder and C.E.O of Nelson-DeCamp Corp from 1964 until his retirement in 1996. He was an active and faithful member of Christ the Rock Lutheran Church.He is survived by his wife, Karen; children, Rick, Kim Yount, Kathy (Mike) Oldenburg, Paul (Trish), Abbey (Tanden) Johnson and Annie; sisters, Donna Nelson and Phyllis Takiyama; brother, Rex. He has seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.Ken's family wishes to acknowledge the care and dedication of Dr. Hoskins and Dr. Appava, for always being there for their patients; as well as the Nurses and CNA's on 4 West at OSF for their kindness.

Memorial to Christ the Rock Lutheran Church, 8330 Newburg Rd., Rockford, IL, 61108 or The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, 1111 Stewart Ave., Bethpage, New York, 11714.