The Rev. John Wiley Nelson of Provincetown died peacefully on Feb. 7, 2025 at Cape Cod Hospital, surrounded by his family. A WOMR station manager and disc jockey known as “the Rev,” he lived a life both large and intimate; his family and community knew him as a servant of justice, a lifelong learner, a nonjudgmental listener, a man pulsing to his own rhythm, and a lover of simple pleasures. The cause of death was respiratory failure following a stroke. He was 85.
The son of the late Theodore Wirt Nelson and Elizabeth (Naso) Nelson, the Rev was born on Oct. 29, 1939 in Camden, N.J. He spent his childhood in Woodbury and Westfield, N.J. and Dallas, Texas and on many cross-country road trips. He earned a B.A. in journalism from Pennsylvania State University in 1960 and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of Chicago in 1969.
The Rev was present at the March on Washington in 1963, where he witnessed Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, an experience that profoundly influenced his lifelong commitment to justice and civil rights.
He became an associate professor at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and in 1979 was called as pastor to the historic First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, N.J. His 20-year ministry there helped the church navigate a transition to empowering historically oppressed communities in the city. He was an administrator, an author, and a powerful preacher. He also opened the church as a place of worship for the local Muslim community.
In collaboration with his wife, Terese, he served as administrator of Trenton Academy, an education center serving children in the city. He created the Hanover Street Ministry, which educated the community about systemic racism. He served on the board of the Children’s Home Society, the Greater Trenton Community Mental Health Center, and the Kingsbury Corp., which created subsidized housing for low-income families. He was also the first president of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.
Throughout the 1990s, the Rev served on the Gay and Lesbian Task Force for the Presbyterian Church of New Jersey, advocating with persistence for the ordination of gay and lesbian seminary graduates. Students at Princeton Theological Seminary increasingly looked to him for support.
During his Trenton ministry, the Rev and his family began taking vacations in Provincetown; after renting for several years, they bought a condo in 1992. The Rev officiated at weddings, christenings, and funerals for those without a church home, and he offered counseling to those in need.
After leaving Trenton permanently for Provincetown, he performed as a singer, a guitar and harmonica player, and a writer of Americana-style songs. Recorded on a dozen albums, his songs speak of life, love, death, and Provincetown’s beauty. One is featured at Jack’s Bar-B-Que in Nashville, Tenn., where his picture hangs on Jack’s Wall of Fame.
In the early 2000s, the Rev was asked to join the board at WOMR radio. He then became the station manager during a period of financial difficulty and ran a successful fundraising campaign to build a new antenna, which allowed the station to reach a potential audience of 80,000 new listeners.
After leaving the board, he had a show called Bradford Street Bluegrass for several years. He is celebrated at WOMR every Nov. 22, which is known as John Nelson Day.
The Rev had a passion for popular culture, and he introduced his children to Spaghetti Westerns, black-and-white samurai movies, and the classic films of Stanley Kubrick. He was an avid sports fan, holding a season ticket during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Steel Curtain era. He was sitting in the end zone for Franco Harris’s “immaculate reception” on Dec. 23, 1972. He passed his love of the Steelers on to his children and grandchildren.
The Rev did not like to talk about his many accomplishments. He was content to let himself be known through simple daily connections with others.
In his last years, he was happiest in his chair, working on crossword puzzles with a football game on, surrounded by giggling grandchildren and listening to stories from family and friends. These formed the chorus of his life that he conducted over many years.
The Rev is survived by his wife, Terese Filiberto Nelson of Provincetown; his sisters, Susan Nelson Elliot of Crystal Lake, Ill. and Barbara Eleanor Nelson of Westfield, N.J.; his children, Travis McHugh Nelson and wife Cindy Snow of Bordentown, N.J., Wiley Louise Dinnal and husband Kirk “Silky” Dinnal of Riverdale, N.Y., Dylan Christopher Nelson and wife Michelle Fernando of Braintree, and Molly Elizabeth Stinson and husband Dylan Stinson of Provincetown; and his grandchildren, Milo and Liam Nelson; Noah, Eli, Zara, and Sadie Dinnal; and Arthur and Jade Stinson.
He was predeceased by his brother, Paul Richard Nelson, and his son Chrisopher Wiley Nelson.
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 17 at the First Congregational Church, 3 First Parish Lane, Truro.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the Rev’s honor to WOMR Radio, Box 975, Provincetown 02657.
