H. Viscount “Berky” Nelson, a respected UCLA mentor, director and mediator, died Oct. 5 in Los Angeles at the age of 76, following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Nelson, who began working at UCLA in 1969, initially served as the director of campus programs and activities. He spent these first few years developing relationships with students, faculty and staff, and establishing a foundation he spent the next 40 years serving, said Belinda Tucker, a friend to Nelson and professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences.
Christopher Nelson, Berky Nelson’s eldest son, said he is constantly made aware of the far-reaching scope of the influence his father had at UCLA, as people from around the world continue to ask him about his father.
“The scope of my dad’s influence is something that I experience each day, no matter where I am,” Christopher Nelson said. “I could be in London, New York or at some restaurant – people will ask if I’m Berky Nelson’s son and if I know about some amazing thing my dad did for them.“
Tucker said Nelson’s unique personality made it easy for anyone he met or worked with to trust and confide in him.
“Berky was a presence on campus, someone who could easily reach across the natural boundaries between the staff, faculty and students,” Tucker said. “I can’t think of anyone else who could so easily interact with anyone he met.”
Nelson later served as director of the Center for Student Programming, where he dedicated his time to monitoring student functions and activities, building relationships and offering guidance to students.
“Berky was a father figure to me and so many other people,” said Mike Cohn, Nelson’s successor and director of UCLA Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement. “He was an administrator that didn’t like administrating, but loved people.”
For many years, Nelson worked as director of student programming, now called the Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement, or SOLE, which advises more than 1,000 campus organizations. He also worked with students as a professor of African American studies and created an unofficial position for himself as a mentor and confidante for UCLA athletes, Cohn said.
In 2014, Nelson retired from UCLA as the director of fraternity and sorority relations.
Since his passing, alumni have shared stories and memories of Nelson that exemplify his broad, influential scope, said Melissa Veluz-Abraham, a student affairs adviser in SOLE who had Nelson as a professor.
“As a student, I would always pop in to office hours to talk about one thing, and we would end up talking for two or three hours,” Veluz-Abraham said. “We developed a relationship and he became a part of my family over the years.”
Veluz-Abraham added he brought warmth and laughter to the campus and beyond, consistently offering her support with his attendance at her wedding and the birth of her two children.
Berk Nelson, Nelson’s youngest son, said Nelson was a great UCLA faculty member but an even better father.
“It was the little things that my dad would do everyday, to allow all the opportunities he never had,” said Berk Nelson. “When we were younger and living in Los Angeles, my brother and I played hockey. There weren’t many ice rinks around, so after working a full week, he wouldn’t hesitate to drive us down to San Diego to practice, even though it was his time to sleep in and relax.”
Christopher Nelson said his father was someone he looked up to because he was able to communicate and connect with everyone he met.
“When my sons were on their high school track team, Berky offered them individual instruction,” Tucker said. “He spent hours doing something for two children who weren’t UCLA students or his own kids. It was just like him to work with them beyond his responsibilities.”
Christopher Nelson said he continues to see the amazing impact his father had on UCLA, as former students, faculty, staff and alumni reach out to praise his father through stories and memories.
“He was a super dad to us and a True Bruin through and through,” Christopher Nelson said. “There was something special, something unique about how he was able to impact so many people’s’ lives.”
Berk Nelson added he thought his dad was perfect.
“When my dad was honored last year, he came up to me afterward and apologized for not being there enough, for working so hard,” Berk said. “But I looked at him and couldn’t remember a time in my life when he wasn’t there for us.”
Nelson was survived by his two sons, Christopher and Berk. Funeral services for Nelson will be held Saturday, Oct. 17, at First Presbyterian Church in Oxford, Pa.