It is with great sadness and regret that I inform you of the recent dea=
th of Dr.
Mike Nelson in Nanaimo B.C. Mike had a distinguished career in Health P=
romotion over
the last 20 years as a private consultant , federal employee and on the=
 Board of
Directors for the Canadian and B. C. public health associations.

 Most of his Canadian colleagues will remember Mike's vision and sense =
of humor.
Mike was always there with a new idea and a humorous perspective at con=
ferences and
meetings . I have lost a close friend and will miss him terribly.

 His family have asked that friends and colleagues write notes of remem=
brances of
Mike to celebrate his life and to be included in a =91gathering" on May=
 31st. I would
be happy to receive these notes and present them to the family.

The following notice appeared in the local press

Nelson, Dr. Michael Davidson, age 51, passed away April 23, 1998, in
Nanaimo, B.C.  Mike was a loving and devoted husband and father, and he=
 was
deeply committed to friends and the communities in which he resided.  A=
s an
applied sociologist, and as a creative thinker with a passionate social
conscience, Mike worked to make the world around him a better place in
which to live.   In the 1980s, he worked for four federal government
departments, holding senior positions in policy, evaluation and researc=
h,
and program development.  After moving to British Columbia in 1991, Mik=
e
combined consulting and occasional university teaching with a high leve=
l of
volunteer work in national and local organizations.  At the time of his
death, Mike headed NHN Consulting Group, was Vice-President of the Publ=
ic
Health Association of British Columbia, a director of the Mid-Island Pu=
blic
Participation Society, and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Institut=
e
for Health Promotion Research, University of British Columbia.  He form=
erly
served as a director of the Canadian Public Health Association (Chair o=
f
the Environmental and Occupational Health Division), Co-Chair of the Ci=
ty
of Nanaimo's Social Planning Advisory Committee, and President of Manot=
ick
(Ontario) Project Ploughshares.

He will be terribly missed by his wife, Dr. Susan Hess Nelson, son, Cha=
d,
daughter, Janet, parents, Dr. Charles and Dorothea Nelson, brothers Wil=
liam
(Jacki) and James (Dr. Mary D), aunt, Berniece Brown (Donald), in-laws =
(the
Hess family), and many cousins, nephews and nieces.  All who knew Mike =
are
invited to share memories of his wisdom, passion, wit, sense of humor a=
nd
enjoyment of life.  A celebration of his life will be held at the famil=
y
residence (6961 Saxon Cross Road, Lantzville, BC, V0R 2H0), Sunday, May=
 31,
1998 at 2 p.m., followed by a reception.

Rick Wilson

I had the privilege of working with Mike Nelson when he was with the federal Health
Promotion Directorate -- probably one of dozens of consultants to do so. I greatly
respected his intellect and his integrity.  He knew where he stood and how to cut
through the chaff to the wheat.  He had a sense of self without having a sense of
self-importance.  I'm glad our paths crossed, and I shall miss knowing that his
powerful brain and social conscience are ranged on the side of health promotion.
I extend my sympathy to his family in their loss.

Elizabeth Rajkumar
The Working Group
Ottawa