We lost a prominent figure who has played a significant role in the province’s business community for decades.
A funeral service will be held Monday for Wally Nelson, known for starting and building Nelson Motors in Avonlea which grew into a major distributor of farm equipment as well as motor vehicles across the southern part of Saskatchewan. And he was a powerful figure in shaping the agriculture sector in the province and across the West.
He was a founder of the Palliser Wheat Growers which morphed into the Western Canadian Wheat Growers and was an influential voice in the 45-year battle to wrestle power over a farmer’s ability and right to market their own product from the federal government and give it back to producers.
Along the way he played a key role in the creation of the first farmer-owned inland grain terminal at Weyburn and even built a golf course in his home town. He was, in short, a builder who was recognized with the province’s highest honour and built a reputation as a scrapper fighting for individual freedoms.
