After nearly 30 years on the job, Aberdeen city attorney Eric Nelson his hanging up his bow tie and calling it a career Wednesday.

“I was hired by Aberdeen on November 14, 1988, when I was 32,” he said. “My last day in office will be September 13, 2017.”

Nelson comes from a long line of city attorneys.

“My grandfather was Montesano’s city attorney for over 44 years,” said Nelson. “My father was the Montesano city attorney for another 10 years.”

Nelson was the middle of five children. He recalls growing up in a small house on Marcy Street in Montesano before the family moved into the Abel house on Fleet Street a stone’s throw from the county courthouse. The place was pretty run down when Nelson’s family first called it home in 1969, but his hardworking parents and all five kids joined in to restore it back to its original form when it was built in 1910.

So what’s next for Nelson?

“I have no specific plans — I’m not running for office or going back into private practice — other than to relax,” he said. “I expect to keep busy on our acreage: lots of landscaping and maintenance projects in mind.” He said when his wife, Mary, retires from her position at the Port of Grays Harbor, “We’ll do more traveling.”

In close to 30 years serving as Aberdeen’s corporate counsel Nelson has seen a lot of different faces within the city government. He’s had six mayors, five public works directors, three police chiefs and five fire chiefs come and go during his tenure.

When asked to share some work-related stories, Nelson said his years in office often cannot be discussed publicly.

“Aberdeen’s Corporation Counsel is not an elected office. That makes a big difference in the role if the city attorney,” he said. “It also limits the work related anecdotes. Attorney/client privilege follows you to the grave.”

The work load as city attorney can be overwhelming, but over his years in the position Nelson has learned to take it in stride and delegate when he can. He has become the city’s go-to guy in almost all aspects, keenly deciphering laws and codes to look for any potential flaw that could land the city in hot water.

“In the short time I was able to work with him, Eric Nelson has proven to be an indispensable asset to the City of Aberdeen,” said Aberdeen Mayor Erik Larson. “I will greatly miss having his wise, and often blunt, counsel to rely on and hope he enjoys a wonderful and well-earned retirement.”

“Often blunt” is something you hear quite a bit when you’re talking about Nelson. Extremely well-read with a flair for the spoken word, he will flat-out tell you what he thinks about any particular issue in a tone that sounds more like fact than opinion. Part of that is courtroom experience, where even when you’re stating fact there is always an element of persuasion in the words you use.

“I’ve gotten better at understanding people,” he admitted. “I’m a little more relaxed, a little more respectful and less arrogant.”

Nelson said he figured he would be asked about what his major accomplishments were as city attorney. But between attorney/client privilege and the sheer number of major city actions he’s had a hand in, coming up with one or two proved difficult.

“Over the years I’ve been here in-house I have been fortunate to be part of a team, making myself accessible, part of a decision making team,” he said. “I can’t think of something the city has done that I haven’t been a part of.”

For the first six months or so, Nelson plans on not having plans. He will relax and tend to his 18 acres in Montesano, which he is constantly working.

“My wife and I both enjoy working outside,” he said. He has a small tractor for some of the heavier lifting, but he prefers an old-school boots-on-the-ground get-your-hands-dirty approach to most of his yard work. “It makes it more enjoyable to do it that way. If you use an excavator you end up with a pile of dirt with rocks and sticks in it and you scrape off about six inches of topsoil.” A nasty accident earlier this year involving an old blade on a weed trimmer breaking off and somehow reaching his foot, cutting through his boot and flesh right down to the bone, didn’t keep him down for long.

He’ll likely continue with his community service activities after he retires Wednesday. If you’ve ever been to the Black and White Ball, the United Way’s annual fundraising event, you’ve seen him co-emceeing, dressed to the nines as always, with local attorney and Aberdeen Driftwood Player Gary Morean.

“I’m like Ed McMahon to his Johnny Carson,” said Nelson. “I’m alert to his timing and sense of humor. If Gary’s hosting a charity event I always say I’m happy to do it with him.” But don’t expect to see Nelson gracing the stage with the Driftwood Players. “I’ve had a couple of walk-on roles before and it’s amazing the level of commitment these actors have,” he said. He likened it to the piano lessons of his youth: “I took eight years of lessons and finally realized I was never going to be a concert pianist. Not even a pianist in a jazz bar.”

Morean has known Nelson since the early 80s when both were in private practice.

“Eric is a super guy,” he said. “A very very dry wit and just always funny.” The pair also emcees the annual Rotary auction. “He is a perfect foil to play off of, and we each have our own set of sensibilities and humor that go well together.”

He said the city faces a huge task in finding a replacement with the qualities Nelson has.

“I’m interested in seeing what the city does to figure the city attorney position out,” said Morean. “Not all of us have the skills as attorneys to manage the city and keep the mayor and department heads happy. I get the feeling the city is going to realize, hey, we might need two or more people to do the job Eric did.”

Even when Morean and Nelson are on different sides of a legal battle, Morean said “Eric is very calm and even keeled. Sometimes we lawyers get into histrionics, puff up and thump on our chests. Not Eric. He makes sure the city is taken care of and that any situation is taken care of in a way that’s fair to everyone.”

Of course, it had to be asked: what’s with the bow ties?

The always-sharply dressed city attorney said he has memories of going to Barclay’s Men’s Store in the Elks Building in Aberdeen as a child. The kids’ section was in the mezzanine area, and there was what he called a standard boy’s suit for the time: gray flannel pants and a red blazer. He also recalled seeing a picture of Bob Salmon, who was the first public works director Nelson worked with as city attorney, wearing a suit at the dedication ceremony for the Wynooche Dam, which was completed in 1972. He recalled he was also there that day, dug through old photos and found one of him and his sister taken that very day, him in his suit and bow tie.

“After college nobody was wearing bow ties, and I figured it was a way to set myself apart,” he said. There are benefits of bow ties, including having people think you are somehow smarter because you wear one, he said. There are drawbacks as well; some people see a man in a bow tie and assume he is arrogant and opinionated, two things Nelson fully admits he’s been guilty of.

There will be a retirement celebration after the Aberdeen City Council meeting Wednesday – meetings start at 7:15 p.m. That will wrap up his last official day in the office.