In Memoriam: Bill and Ruth Nelson, lifelong advocates of youth hostelling

Posted by Mary on May 18, 2010

The American hostel movement lost two of its champions this May, when Bill and Ruth Nelson passed away in Litchfield, Connecticut. Bill, 93, died May 6 of a stroke. Ruth, his wife of 65 years, died May 10 of heart failure at the age of 88.

The Nelsons spent their lives dedicated to travel and hostelling, and gave 74 years of service to American Youth Hostels, later renamed Hostelling International USA.

HI-USA Executive Director Russell Hedge called them "pioneers of the youth hostel movement," and said the organization is indebted to "Bill’s wit, wisdom, and leadership and Ruth’s unwavering support" over their many years of both paid and volunteer work.

"We will miss them," he said.

Bill Nelson was one of the founding members of AYH, as well as one of the first Americans to experience hostel travel. In 1934, he participated in a tour of Europe designed to promote the formation of AYH and the opening of the first American hostel in Northfield, Massachusetts, later that year.

He met Ruth at the Northfield hostel when she took a summer job there in 1940. They married in 1945, while Bill was serving as a U.S. Army First Lieutenant and Ruth was training as a nurse.

Between then and the 1960s, the couple was instrumental in promoting and establishing youth hostels in this country — Ruth worked for the national organization in its formative years, managed several AYH hostels, and later gave leadership to the Alumni Committee. Bill directed training programs for hundreds of youth who went on to be AYH leaders, and became the AYH Travel Director in 1950, where he remained until his retirement.

In 1983, HI-USA named its Excellence in Hostel Management Award after Bill and Ruth Nelson. Both volunteered for and stayed closely connected to the organization until their deaths.

In a 1941 lecture, Bill Nelson told his students that through hostelling, "the bonds of unity will be strengthened between people of all sections of the country. A love of country and pride in its vast resources and natural beauty will increase as girls and boys travel…with leisure to stop and talk to people along the way."

Bill and Ruth Nelson are survived by four daughters, four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. They are also remembered by the many thousands of people they met along the way, traveling to and managing youth hostels.

A joint memorial service was held May 30 in Morris, Connecticut. The family requests that no flowers be sent, and that instead donations are made to The Ruth and Bill Nelson Memorial Fund at HI-USA, VNS of Connecticut, or American Red Cross Litchfield Chapter.

For more information on giving to HI-USA, contact Eva Dillon at (888) 449-8727 or giving@hiusa.org.