Les Nelson Memorial
For more than thirty years, Les Nelson has been a leader of California’s solar energy industry through his varied and tireless work at CALSSA, among many other organizations. He will be deeply missed.
Recording of Les Nelson Zoom Memorial
July 1, 2020
Les Nelson Photo Montage Tribute Video
Donate to CALSSA in memory of Les
In recognition of his legacy and contribution to the Solar Industry,
Les’s family invites friends and colleagues to consider making
a donation to CALSSA in his honor.
Death is Nothing at All by Henry Scott Holland
Poem read by Ian Nelson, Les Nelson’s son at the Memorial
Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just round the corner.
All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
CALSSA Tribute Letter to Les
Dear CALSSA Community,
It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you that CALSSA board member and solar energy leader, Les Nelson passed away last night. He was 65 years old.
Les was one of CALSSA’s longest-serving board members. He was the former board president and interim executive director. He was chair of the Solar Heating and Cooling Committee and was always a guiding hand for the staff and the businesses we support. His experiences extend far beyond his role at CALSSA as his Curriculum Vitae illustrates. He will be deeply missed.
Les was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of both policy and market data, and he truly supported the growth of all forms of solar energy – thermal, PV, and batteries alike. He worked tirelessly across several decades to pass the Solar Rights Act as well as the first net metering law, to name just a few of his many signature contributions. Les was our parliamentarian on the board, always keeping us in proper working order. Personally, I don’t know what I’ll do with the board minutes going forward; he always found my mistakes with an eagle eye and always shared his corrections in a gentle manner.
To me, more important than his intellect and commitment to CALSSA and the industry we serve, Les was the commensurate team player, never ruling from ego, always helping in ways many of us could not see, and never expecting anything in return. In this way, Les was not only a leader in the day-to-day governances of this Association, but a true leader of the heart and spirit of CALSSA.
All of our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to Les’s family – his wife Christine, and his two children, Ian and Ariana. As well as his dearest friends and colleagues.
In recognition of his legacy and contribution to the Solar Industry, Les’s family invites friends and colleagues to consider making a donation to CALSSA in his honor.
In Sympathy,
Bernadette Del Chiaro, Executive Director
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