Wayne Allen Nelson, known by all as Panda, was born in Little Falls, Minnesota on April 26, 1960. He was the first son of Richard and Rachael Nelson and they loved him dearly. A happy baby boy with a smile that stayed with him all the days of his life. Panda could be described as trustworthy, kind, cheerful, friendly, courteous, helpful, loyal, courageous, and a friend to all that have known him.
Panda was the first of eight children born to Rachael and Richard. The first of a wild household that Rachael worked hard to hold together while Richard kept that 18-Wheeler rolling to keep the bills paid. Panda was a wild and adventurous boy, running with his buddies, building forts and caves in the piles of snow pushed up by the plows, riding his Honda 80cc dirt bike, then his El Tigre 440 snowmobile. Mom always said that she prayed hard for all of us, and I do believe that our mother’s prayers were the main reason we have made it this far.
His first car was a 57 Chevrolet, and he loved picking up his grandmothers from the train depot and running them through Lover’s Lane, when you had to weave around the mud puddles and the road would bank high along the sides, just to make them squeal like little girls. Then it was Mopar muscle cars like Super Bees, Dodge Chargers, and Challengers. But then “Smokey and the Bandit” hit the silver screen and a Pontiac Trans Am was his next ride. His final pride and joy was his silver Corvette that he built a new shop to protect. Wayne once said that he has owned more cars than the years that he has been driving legal, figuring that it was around 47.
He always had money to spend because he worked every available job, whether in the hay fields or at the shop. You could say he was born to be a truck driver. Spending his earliest years riding with Richard, his father, in a K100 cabover Kenworth as they ran loads of hay to the stockyards in South Saint Paul and Garner, Iowa. There was never a day that he didn’t want to drive the big rigs…a truck driver was what he would be. So, he immersed himself into the Wang Trucking shop working as a helper for Keith Christianson, changing tires and washing trucks. All the boys who worked at the shop earned a trucker’s handle and it was there that the legend of Panda. He knew how to handle those trucks before he had a license to drive them. At 18 years, Wayne and Stuart Christian borrowed a Wang truck for the day, where they practiced driving it back and forth to Mentor and of course stopping for ice cream at the Dairy Queen. A short time later, on to Mahnomen, they went with another borrowed truck and an overloaded trailer, where they took the behind-the-wheel test and earned their Class A licenses.
Wayne has driven for many local operators in his 42 years of service. He started his driving career with Melvin Wang Trucking in his teenage years. He soon was hired on with Rob Mahlum Trucking for the next 10 years, followed by Colby Transport in 1993 where he worked for Chuck Monroe and David Rosenburg. And finally, he signed on with Christian Transport, and his old buddies, Stuart, and Dwight Christian, who he has driven for since 2013.
Although he had no children of his own, he was a great uncle to his nieces and nephews. Reading the stories, talking about what is right in life, and playing with them.
One of his favorite times of the year was when we would attend the Mid America Truck Show in Louisville, Kentucky. Wayne and Jim always brought Richard along so that he could reminisce with all the other old truckers and check out the new trucks and trailers and tools. A highlight was the year that he entered his truck in the beauty contest for working trucks. We worked so hard shining that truck and drying from the rain that we vowed never to do that again. He was always tricking out his truck…adding more chicken lights and chrome and big stacks. Various friends, brothers and nephews made this trip over the dozen or more years that we attended. A side highlight to this trip was a visit to the Corvette Museum and Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, KY., and buying those $100 raffle tickets for a chance to win a new Corvette.
We will miss you dearly down here, brother. If you do not mind, put in a good word for us up there. Love you, Panda.
Panda was a good trucker…the best! He was a hard worker that never thought he was entitled to anything, and that everything good came with work. He loved his family. He watched out for his parents. He would always be late getting on the road. I felt like it was because, as much as he loved driving, he loved being with family more, so he procrastinated about doing the things that he needed to do before heading out. He also loved going 4-wheeling and snowmobiling with his brothers. He loved to sit down and share a meal with family. He loved to just hang out with family. He could talk to anyone and make them feel welcome and important.
Wayne Nelson passed away at the age of 61, due to heart complications on Monday, February 21, 2022, at Altru Health in Grand Forks, ND.
May the Lord ride with you on this new highway. May your Angels fly by your side as you chase that white line. And now that you have hauled your final load, there is one more trip, on a road paved with gold that will deliver you through those Pearly Gates.
Keep her between the ditches, brother. 10–10 Panda.
Funeral Service: 2:00 PM, Friday, March 4, 2022, at Church of Christ, Crookston, MN.
Visitation: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Thursday, March 3, 2022, at Erikson-Vik-Ganje Funeral Home, Fertile, MN, with a prayer service to begin at 6:30 PM.
Interment: City of Fertile Cemetery, Fertile, MN.
Memorials are preferred to the Golden Drive Homeless Kids organization located at 4302 13th Avenue S. Suite 4-350, Fargo, ND 58103. 701-850-7362
Please view our guestbook and share condolences online at www.eriksonvikfh.com Arrangements with Erikson-Vik-Ganje Funeral Home Fertile, Minnesota
