Kenneth R. Nelson, 70, of Milan passed away Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at home surrounded by his family following a courageous battle with kidney disease.

Per his wishes, there will be no services and the body will be cremated. Wheelan-Pressley Funeral Home and Crematory, Milan, is handling the arrangements.

Kenneth was born August 18, 1946 in Moline, the son of Adrian and Loretta Williamson Nelson. He married Cynthia Reinders on June 20, 1970 in Rock Island.

Kenneth enjoyed boating, fishing and designing many carpentry projects.

He was a veteran of the Navy. He was later employed at J.I. Case in Rock Island for 15 years until it closed in 1988. He found a new opportunity at the Rock Island Arsenal using his artistic abilities to work his way up from machinist to ARDEC computer graphics design engineer. He specialized in designing Army diving equipment for which he won many awards. He retired in 2008 after 22 years at the Arsenal.

He is survived by his wife, Cynthia; son, Cory; daughter, Stacy; his two beloved granddaughters, Alexis and Emerson; dear cousin Larry Simoens; and many other family members.

He is preceded in death by his parents, sister and son, Christopher.

Special thanks to the Dr. Alla's and their staff at Quad City Kidney Center for their exceptionally compassionate care, as well as the staff at Trinity Unity-Point.