The obituary was written by Melbourne R. Carriker and published in the Proceedings of the National Shellfisheries Association

Thurlow Christian Nelson, marine biologist, was drowned on 12 September, 1960, off a storm-swept shore near his summer cottage at Green Creek, Cape May, N.J.,while trying to secure his rowboat against hurricane Donna. He would have been 70 years of age on 22 September.

He was born in Highland Park, N J., in 1890 and attended Rutgers elementary and preparatory schools in New Brunswick, just across the Raritan River from his home. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1913 with a B.S. degree in biology, and from the University of Wisconsin in 1917 with a doctorate in zoology and physiological chemistry. During World War I he served as a first lieutenant in the Army Sanitary Corps.

He was invited to join the Rutgers teaching staff in 1919 as assistant professor of zoology, becoming associate professor in 1922 and professor in 1926. From 1925 to the time of his retirement in 1956 he was chairman of the department of zoology, and he was biologist in charge of shellfish investigation at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station from 1916 to 1950. In addition he served as chairman of the New Jersey State Water Policy and Supply Council from 1945 until his death. After his retirement he was named Julius Nelson Professor of Zoology in the Rutgers Graduate School, a chair founded in memory of his father, who began oyster research in New Jersey for Rutgers in 1888.

In 1934 Thurlow Nelson was honored as Rutgers' Distinguished Scholar and Gifted Teacher. Five years later the university awarded him an honorary degree of doctor of science and in 1958, the Rutgers Alumni Federation Award.

In American Men of Science Nelson's specialties are listed as biology of the oyster, estuarine ecology, marine biology, and limnology. His research in these areas resulted in more than 125 papers on the anatomy, physiology, and ecology of the oyster and associated organisms; on parasitology; and on water supply.

Nelson held membership in many scientific societies. He served as president of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography in 1953, as president of the National Shellfisheries Association from 1931 to 1933, as vice president of the American Society of Zoologists in 1948, and as vice president of the American Microscopical Society in 1941.

Viewed in perspective, this long list of accomplishments is an impressive one. Equally impressive were Nelson's contributions as a teacher over a span of some 45 years. His keen mind, warm personality, sincere and forceful speech, genuine interest in people, and deep enthusiasm for biology attracted many students to him. As an active church leader with deep religious convictions, Nelson often wrote and spoke on the common ground of religion and science. He died in the midst of the elements which provided so much of the stimulus for his productive life.