Earl Nelson, Marlborough selectboard member and former police chief, dies

Nelson worked in Keene before taking leadership positions in several nearby communities, including Dublin, Roxbury and Chesterfield.

Earl Nelson, who spent more than 40 years in public service in the region, died Tuesday, town officials said.

The town said Nelson had been on the Marlborough Selectboard since 2019 and was scheduled to remain in office until December 2027. Before entering town government, he built a long career in law enforcement that included becoming Marlborough’s first full-time police chief from 1987 to 1990 and later serving as interim chief in 2006.

His career also reached beyond Marlborough. Nelson worked in Keene before taking leadership positions in several nearby communities, including Dublin, Roxbury and Chesterfield. He later rose to sergeant with the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office.

At the time of his death, Nelson was serving as a lieutenant at the N.H. Police Standards and Training Academy in Concord, where he also helped train part-time state officers as commandant of the Part-time Officer Academy.

The N.H. Police Standards and Training Council said Nelson was regarded as a dependable colleague and mentor whose work left a lasting mark on the organization and the people around him.

Marlborough Police Chief Zachary Bayam said Nelson was widely respected in town and had helped many residents over the years.

Nelson had also sought the Cheshire County sheriff’s job several times, running in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. In a 2016 candidate questionnaire for The Sentinel, he described a career that began with the Keene Police Explorers in the early 70s and continued through posts with Keene PD, multiple police chief jobs and his work training officers across New Hampshire.

Town officials said his humor, kindness and commitment to public service would be missed by those who worked with him.