Gene Nelson

Name: Gene Nelson

Age: 77

Family: Wife Lee, daughter Jana, son Brett, two grandchildren, six great-grandchildren

Residence: Yuba City

Occupation: Retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Air Force after 30 years.

Hobbies, interests: I like to fish and do yard work.

Where do you get your news? I read the Appeal-Democrat every day, listen to morning radio and watch evening TV.

What brought you to the Yuba-Sutter area? I was stationed at Beale in 1975 and have been here since then. While in the military I've lived in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Nebraska, but we like west of the Nevada mountains. My family moved to Seattle, Wash., when I was 8.

What keeps you in the Yuba-Sutter area? We like all the access here — to the mountains, the desert, the ocean and being near relatives.

What is the closest you've been to a famous person? I met Gen. Jimmy Doolittle while I was stationed as a B-52 navigator at Castle Air Force Base at Atwater. He came to see his son, who was an instructor pilot.

What would you do with a million dollars? Take a trip to Norway.

Who has affected you in your life? My wife — I met her when I was a second lieutenent, stationed at McClellan. I was a high school graduate and had my commission, she was finishing college and her teaching credential. She encouraged me to get a college degree.

What did you want to be when you were a kid? We lived in a little town in Wisconsin, where everything was around farming. I had long range hopes of going to college.

Do you belong to any clubs or organizations in the community? Sons of Norway Snowshoe Thompson Lodge. The family of three of my grandparents go back to 1400 in Norway. If I could travel, I would go to Norway and do more geneological digging.

What are some of your fondest memories? When I was about 7 years old, we lived in Wisconsin. Our family went on a trip to the Great Lakes. From living in a dinky town, it was a great trip.