Our History

WORKING HARD FOR HARD WORKING PEOPLE

Curtis Nelson, our grandfather, died in 1943. He was hit by a truck while working on the job.

Curtis, a veteran of World War I, was a union carpenter. He lived and worked and died in St. Clair County. Curtis left behind a wife, Lucile, and three children. The oldest child, Robert, is our father.

No family member received any benefits of any kind as a result of his death on the job at the hands of a careless driver.

Shortly after Curtis’ death, Robert, already in the navy, shipped off to the European theater for the remainder of the war. His mother, sister and younger brother had to make due with what little they had as the country was emerging from the Great Depression and fought in history’s greatest conflict.

Both before and after his service, Robert worked as a union laborer in St. Clair County. He later became a math teacher in Granite City, Illinois and at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

Our father Robert showed us how to work hard. Our grandfather, whom we never knew, has inspired us to devote our professional lives to benefiting workers who have died or suffered injury on the job.

Our commitment is to work hard for hard working people.