Oak Crest Resident Celebrates 23rd Birthday

Al Nelson doesn't look a day over 24.

He still fits right in with his neighbors in the  retirement community, however.

“I have a birthday every four years,” said Nelson.

That's because Nelson was born on Feb. 29, better known as "Leap Day."

Born in Pittsburgh, Nelson moved to Baltimore as a child when his father transferred south with the B&O Railroad.

He earned a medical degree from the University of Maryland and was immediately assigned to the United States Navy, serving in patrols off the coast of Japan during World War II.

Upon returning home, Dr. Nelson joined what would eventually become the (GBMC) in Towson, a career anesthesiologist until his retirement in 1988.

During that time, Dr. Nelson and his wife of sixty-nine years, Rosa Lee, raised two children in Ruxton. Sailing the Chesapeake Bay was their passion—Nelson's first exposure to the sport came when his father built him his first sailboat, a Snipe.  

Through the years, Dr. Nelson and Rosa Lee sailed with friends out of Annapolis and even to the Caribbean.

But his Leap Year birthdays stood out as special times with family and friends.  “Some years, they would take us out. Some years, they would try to surprise me,” Nelson said.

“He didn’t do too badly on non-Leap Year birthdays, either,” said Rosa Lee, fondly recalling parties held on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1.

His favorite Leap Year birthday present is easy to remember: “To this day, it’s my first two-wheel bicycle. I rode that blue bike up and down the hills of Relay in Baltimore County.”

On Feb. 16, the 2012 leap year festivities got off to an early start.

With a group of 18 residents, Nelson attended a party at the Oak Crest Windows private dining room, complete with three cakes and a "Happy Birthday" serenade by Dining Services students.

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins has one. Singer and actress Dinah Shore had one. “I don’t know too many other folks with a Leap Year birthday. I’ve had fun with them over time,” Nelson said. 

Complete with some light-hearted teasing.

Nelson said that on his "21st" birthday eight years ago, his daughter told him "now you can have your first alcoholic beverage!"

This article was submitted to Patch by user Jeff Getek, an employee at Oak Crest.