From Steve Slivken and Steve Hartmann
It saddens me to report that BMGA member Forrest Nelson has passed away at the age of 62. It is reported that after suffering a heart attack at his condo Monday evening, he was removed from life support Tuesday morning.
Not only was Forrest an excellent golfer (8 handicap), but he absolutely loved the game. He enjoyed a friendly round with the boys in addition to competitive rounds through our 20-man team, 8-Man senior team, or simply the weekend events. I remember about seven years ago (his first as a BMGA member), Forrest and Scott Hartmann were teamed up in a 20-man match at New Richmond. After the round, Scott came up to me and said “You’ve got to get this new guy Forrest on the 8-Man team. He’s 55 and can play.” The rest is history. Going forward Forrest rarely missed an 8-Man match. He just loved it. For the last several years, his go-to partner has been Steve Hartmann. They always formed a competitive team in 8-Man and weekend events. Not only were they teammates, they became good friends. Steve appreciated that Forrest was never judgmental nor spoke badly of anybody.
Forrest spent the bulk of his childhood in Madison, MN where he also worked at a golf course as a greenskeeper. On the golf course, he was always a true gentleman. a student of the sport, and even somewhat of a Golf Historian. He truly had a wealth of golfing knowledge and always enjoyed talking the game. He spent the latter years of his career working at The Home Depot in St. Louis Park, working in several different departments.
Forrest had a genuine smile and an infectious sounding laugh. If you heard a deep sounding “ha, ha, ha”, you knew Forrest was present. He was always fun to be around. We usually had a regular group of Forrest, Steve Hartmann,Tom Hansen, Gary Ridout, Doug Paquette, and myself. After the round, as seniors, we would have a couple beers (Forrest-maximum two Coors Lights), talk golf, health care, and retirement investments. Doug wisely commented that at our age, “We are all on the sixteenth green, hoping to make it to the seventeenth tee box.” Unfortunately Forrest didn’t make it. He passed way too soon. RIP Forrest.
