Nellessen funeral to be held later
Funeral services for George Nellessen, the Arlington Heights man murdered last week in his home, likely won't be held until month's end or even mid-May, according to the pastor of the church Nellessen attended.
The 55-year-old Arlington Heights man was bound, gagged, beaten and stabbed to death in his home last week. Authorities have charged Nellessen's 19-year-old son, Mathew Nellessen, and three other men — Chicago residents Marlon Green, 20; Armon Braden, 20; and Azari Braden, 19 — with first-degree murder and armed robbery.
Rev. Rande Smith of Community Church of Rolling Meadows said Nellessen was an active member, grilling hot dogs during the church's popular annual August corn fest.
“George had a very positive outlook,” Smith said. “We are a church that likes to hug. He probably had one of the best hugs.”
Nellessen joined the church roughly six weeks after his wife, Laura, died of cancer in 2004, and would bring along his two children, Lisa and Mathew.
While Lisa was often at her father's side in church, Mathew attended only three or four times the first couple of years, “and then, I never saw him after that,” Smith said.
Mathew Nellessen has a 2009 conviction for residential burglary for which he was sentenced to boot camp, but he was found ineligible for the program and was resentenced to two years' probation. He violated that probation in August 2010 and was placed in Cook County jail's inpatient drug rehabilitation program. Smith said Nellessen attended Sunday service regularly until then.
“(George) was apologizing for not coming to church because Sundays was one of the few times that he was able to go and do visitation,” Smith said. “He was extremely committed to his two children.”
After his release late last month, Mathew lived with his father in their home on the 1000 block of Wilshire Lane. He attended Prospect and St. Viator high schools without graduating from either one.
Lisa, 21, a graduate of Prospect High School who now attends an out-of-state college, is studying to be a social worker.
“(George) was extremely proud of Lisa,” Smith said. “She was just the apple of his eye, I guess. They were very close. With Mathew there was always some concern there … (but) there was no differentiating between his love for his two children.”