Allamuchy – Frederick “Rick” Carl Nelson, 79, of Allamuchy, New Jersey, regrettably passed away Monday, April 6th, 2026, at CompleteCare at Barn Hill. He was born in Massachusetts to his loving parents, Robert & Muriel (Jones) Nelson. Rick lived in several locations growing up, but graduated from high school in Towson, Maryland. He later attended Johns Hopkins University and graduated with a degree in Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Rick worked for many years as the Director of Weights and Measures for Cortland County, New York, and previously owned his own concrete testing company, FACT, based out of Rochester, New York. At one point in his career, he developed a formula for asphalt that is still used in airline runways today as it allows for better water adsorption yet strong enough for planes to land. He was a founding member of the Sons of the American Revolution for the Finger Lakes region, a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Friends of Rutherfurd Hall, Allamuchy Senior Citizen Club, and served on the Board of Trustees for the Panther Valley Property Owners Association. He was a member of the Panther Valley Ecumenical Church and also attended services with his wife, Candy, at Good Shepherd RC Church. Rick was an avid sports fan, especially of the Baltimore Colts and Baltimore Orioles. He was known to watch every Orioles game and track trades and new signings during the offseason. Upon retirement, he visited every Major League Baseball stadium. Rick enjoyed researching his family’s genealogical history and even would assist others in understanding their ancestors. He enjoyed traveling to search records to build accurate family trees. He discovered three members of his family traveled to North America on the Mayflower, so he became a Mayflower Society member. Rick had a jovial personality with many lifelong friends from childhood in addition to newer friends from retirement. He loved socializing and telling stories of his family’s antics over the years. He enjoyed traveling and exploring history wherever he was. He was a proud softball coach of his daughter’s team in the 1990s and loved being a dance dad, taking his daughter to her dance classes. He was a huge fan of folk music, even naming his daughter after the duet Ian and Sylvia. He loved car competitions for his beloved Morgans, and was known to always enjoy a large cup of coffee, BLTs, and pepperoni pizza. Rick had a larger-than-life personality in his youth and was known to be friendly to everyone whether they were a friend, a waiter, or even a random person in the elevator. He could always have a fascinating and deep conversation that would leave you thinking about him afterwards. He was a caring man and will be deeply missed by his family. Rick leaves behind his wife, Candy Church of Hackettstown, his daughter, Sylvia (Nelson) Whitlock and her husband Jeremy Whitlock of Maryland, along with stepdaughter Michelle Teistma of Hackettstown. He is remembered by his grandchildren Gwendolyn and Theodora Whitlock of Maryland, along with stepgrandchildren Madeline (Teitsma) Bartholomew and husband Chase Bartholomew of Pennsylvania, and Will Teitsma of New Jersey. Rick also leaves behind his sister Judie (Nelson) Schwartz and husband Bob Schwartz of Idaho, his nieces Renee (Zubin) Parsons and husband Travis Parson of Idaho, Michelle Manian of Arizona, and stepnephew Dana Schwartz and wife Patti Smith of Oregon. Family and friends may gather on Friday, April 24, 2026 from 4-6pm with a service at 6 held at Cochran Funeral Home, 905 High Street, Hackettstown New Jersey 07840. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent in his name to the American Diabetes Association at https://diabetes.org/, or by mail to PO Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023. .