Jeffrey Kent Nilson

 Jeffrey Kent Nilson of Harwich Center died Jan 10, 2025 after a sudden medical event. He was 80. The oldest of three children of Elizabeth Tychsen Nilson (“Betty”) and Harvey Nilson, he was born in Hartford, CT but grew up in Colesville, MD. He graduated from St. Anselm’s Abbey School at the Benedictine Priory in Washington DC, where he was on a championship basketball team. Majoring in English, he graduated from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. He taught third grade for two years at Landon School, Bethesda, MD. A student’s parent was US Assistant Attorney General John Doar who recruited Jeff in 1968 to move to Brooklyn and teach non-readers at IS 55, Oceanhill-Brownsville as part of Robert F Kennedy’s legacy through the Ford Foundation-funded Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. This was a time of political controversy about community control of education. Jeff trained with Jean Piaget’s disciple Dr. Caleb Gattegno to learn the Words in Color method of teaching reading, writing, and spelling to support this educational effort.
In 1972, seeking a retreat from such intense work, Jeff and his wife, Marietta relocated to her peaceful Cape Cod hometown of Harwich. Jeff planned to write a book and get a graduate degree in education. Her parents insisted he needed to have a job. The day before school started, he applied at Dennis Yarmouth Schools to be a substitute teacher. He was hired on the spot for a full-time position at Wixon Middle School, where he remained for 12 years.
Jeff left Wixon after he authored the middle school language arts textbook, “Grammar and Composition” (Houghton Mifflin). He was an early user of the Apple computer, drawn to creating educational software. He was on the team that developed the “Bank Street Writer,” funded by the Bank Street College of Education in New York City. This software is a student-friendly word processor, innovative in 1981 because instructions displayed on student’s computer screen at all times.
In the 1990’s Jeff returned to classroom teaching at Harwich Middle School. He also served on the Harwich School Committee as a pioneer advocate for public funding for both computer equipment and education. Next, he worked in the Boston area computer industry as a technical writer at Cognex, a leader in “vision for industry,” factory automation software.
His passion for the English language characterized his whole life, from teaching reading and writing to creating light verse and puns. He was the self-appointed head of the Apostrophe Police. He edited countless documents for his children and then grandchildren, including this fall for his grandson William’s college essays. He pursued his love of art, honing a quirky cartoon style to capture daily life. He doted on his grandchildren who called him “Buppa.” His three kids still know him as “Duckman” because he can talk like Donald Duck. 
He and Marietta raised three children: Elizabeth Nilson, MD, (Adam Ostrow) of Lexington, MA, and his Harwich next door neighbors Margaret Nilson and John Nilson. He leaves three grandchildren: Isaac Ostrow, William Ostrow, and Sarah Nilson. He leaves brothers Steven (Andrea) Nilson of Stonington CT and Sam (Lisa) Nilson of Sterling, VA. He leaves nieces Jennifer Suby Meyer, Alyssa Nilson and nephews Soren Nilson, the late Tristan Nilson, Tim and Jeff Suby, and several cousins: Jean Ellestad, David Nilson, Richard Nilson, MD and Julia Bookbinder.
Donations in Jeff’s memory may be made to St Anselm’s Abbey School, Washington DC (saintanselms.org) or to any activity that helps children learn.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, January 19th at 2PM at the First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist meetinghouse.