Tom Nesler

Address: Janesville, Wisconsin

Early Years

I originally lived in Beloit during my preschool years. But in 1960 we moved to Turtle township, and I started going to Clinton grade school for first and second grade. When my brother started school, they wanted him to attend Shopiere school and so I transferred there for my 3rd and 4th grade. In fifth grade, I transferred back to Clinton grade school and remained there until I graduated high school.

I enjoyed school for the most part and decided I wanted to become an Engineer like my dad, but I did poorly in math and science and so after flunking out of college at Iowa State university, I returned home and took classes part time while working at the Beloit Historical Society. Finally, I moved to Walworth and commuted to Whitewater where I received my degree in business.

Career Years

After graduating from College, I went looking for work in Walworth county. I remember going around to the different manufacturers and dropping off my resume to anyone who would speak to me. Eventually, I got a job at Starline manufacturing in Harvard, IL as an expediter. From there, I became the Inventory Control manager and got a new job at a company called Primex in Lake Geneva WI which, as far as Iknow, is still there. Starline eventually closed a few years after I left. While I was at Primex, the personal computer became available and I became the PC tech person there. I also taught myself to program and used PCs to write programs for the company.

In 1998 I was fired and went to work for a consulting company called New Resources in Milwaukee. There I did tech support. and when the opportunity to do programming came along at Amercian Family Insurance, I jumped at it. Y2K was the big thing in I/T and I helped with that crisis, but after 2001, the consulting business went into a slump, and I joined Amfam as a regular employee doing what I had formerly done as a consultant. I was there 14 years and then was laid off there. After working for less than a year at a different company in Madison, I was laid off again and started working for my brother’s business part time. In 2023 I fully retired.

Family life

While living in Walworth, I met my wife in 1980 and got married in 1982. We moved several times before I was able to purchase my parent’s house back in Beloit and we lived there for 18 years. We have two girls who are now married with children. (A total of 7 grandchildren, so far.) My wife, Kathy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999 and her health began to decline over time, so we sold our house and moved to an apartment in Janesville in 2010. Now I spend my time caring for her and enjoying my grandchildren.

God has always been a major part of my life. I became a believer around New years day 1973 and was active at a Christian coffee house in Walworth. Later, I served as a deacon at our Baptist church in Milton and have been active in men’s ministry for over 30 years. I once played Jesus in a Passion Play at Peoples Church, so I know what it feels like to be hung on a cross!…:-) As the years go by, I realize we are all like flowers in a field, here today and gone tomorrow. That is why I value my fellow classmates so much.