\n<\/p>\n
Troy Nelson and his younger brother Andrew were almost inseparable.<\/p>\n
The two youngest of six, they were born two years apart. They lived together in their childhood home in Bremerton, Wash., for more than half a century. Near their home, there is a park bench on which they carved their initials as young boys.<\/p>\n
The Nelson brothers never married or had children. They worked together at the same senior home. They even once, as teenagers, dated the same girl at the same time while working different shifts at the same pizza shop. This lasted a week until they realized it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo parts of one body,\u201d Evan Browne, their older sister, said of their relationship in an interview.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 28, Andrew Nelson, who had been treated for cancer for years, went to feed the chickens and ducks that were gifts from Ms. Browne to her brothers. He had a heart attack and died. He was 55. Just hours later, Troy Nelson, who was stricken with grief, took his own life. He was 57.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cHe had talked about it before,\u201d Browne, 66, said, tearfully. \u201cHe said, \u2018Hey, if Andrew goes, I\u2019m out of here. I\u2019m checking out.\u2019 Andrew would say the same thing, and then it really happened.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n What Troy Nelson left behind has become a sensation. After his death, family members posted pictures on social media<\/a> of his massive \u2014 and, really, the keyword is massive \u2014 collection of \u201cStar Trek\u201d memorabilia, which have now been shared thousands of times.<\/p>\n The items took up two living rooms and a bedroom, all lined with bookshelves, according to Elena Hamel, one of the brothers\u2019 nieces. The centers of the rooms were lined with additional bookshelves \u2014 all packed to the brim \u2014 to create aisles. There were jewelry cabinets serving as display cases.<\/p>\n The shelves contained action figures. Dolls. Models of ships. Posters. Ornaments. Lunchboxes. Legos. Several toy phasers and tricorders. (For non-Trek fans, the phaser is a weapon, and a tricorder is, essentially, a fancy smartphone.) Multiple \u201cStar Trek\u201d lamps. (Yes, there are \u201cStar Trek\u201d lamps.) Trading cards. Comic books. Trek-themed Geeki Tikis (stylized tiki mugs). Life-size cutouts of famous characters. A life-size captain\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While it\u2019s impossible to account for every private collector in the world, Troy Nelson\u2019s collection is almost assuredly among the largest \u2014 if not the <\/em>largest.<\/p>\n The last additions to the collection came in the final weeks of his life: Stuffed rabbits in \u201cStar Trek\u201d uniforms. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a collection that size,\u201d said Russ Haslage, the president of the International Federation of Trekkers<\/a>, a \u201cStar Trek\u201d-themed nonprofit that Haslage founded with Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the franchise.<\/p>\n Haslage\u2019s organization opened in 2020 a \u201cStar Trek\u201d museum in Sandusky, Ohio, that has received donations of memorabilia from estates. Those collections \u201cpale in comparison\u201d to Mr. Nelson\u2019s, he said. (Haslage has reached out to the family to ask about donations from the collection.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The older brother\u2019s love of \u201cStar Trek\u201d began with the original series, which he\u2019d watch with his siblings.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was our dinner meal,\u201d Ms. Browne said. \u201cWhen we had dinner, we were sitting in front of \u2018Star Trek.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Troy Nelson began collecting in the late-1970s. His first acquisition was a model version of the Starship Enterprise. Then came Star Trek conventions. Why the franchise was such a draw to him remains a mystery to his family.<\/p>\n \u201cI really can\u2019t say. I mean, other than the fact that he was brainwashed with it at dinner time,\u201d Browne said, laughing. \u201cThat sounds ridiculous. When we grew up, it\u2019s like, \u2018Dinner is at this time. And if you don\u2019t get here at this time, you don\u2019t get dinner.\u2019 So it might\u2019ve been a comfort for him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Troy Nelson would often monitor sites like eBay for items he didn\u2019t have. On several occasions, he would express frustration on losing out on an item before being able to bid on it. Until he found out the reason.<\/p>\n \u201cAndrew already got it for him,\u201d Ms. Browne recalled.<\/p>\n Obsessive \u201cStar Trek\u201d fandom has long become an indelible part of pop culture, especially as the franchise \u2014 which has spawned several television series, movies, novels and comics \u2014 has been a long-running institution. There have been documentaries that have studied the subject, such as \u201cTrekkies\u201d<\/a> in 1997. It\u2019s been lampooned on \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d<\/a> \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d<\/a> and \u201cFamily Guy,\u201d<\/a> and become a story line in an episode of \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d<\/a> among many others. For dedicated fans, accruing collectibles isn\u2019t uncommon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhen you collect these things, you\u2019re closer to that genre that you enjoy so much,\u201d Haslage said. \u201cWhen I first started in 1979, I was grabbing everything I could get my hands on because it was cool, and it was a piece of the whole \u2018Star Trek\u2019 mythos. If you have these pieces, you\u2019re a part of that universe in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It turns out that collecting is a pursuit that runs in the family.<\/p>\n Andrew Nelson collected mall swords, Ryobi-branded tools and statues of warrior women, like Xena, the warrior princess<\/a>.<\/p>\n Browne\u2019s house has a wall with thousands of smashed pennies and her living room windows are full of glass sugar and creamer bowls.<\/p>\n Browne\u2019s father, Bud Peers, collected salt and pepper shakers, guns and knives. Troy and Andrew\u2019s father, Norman Nelson, collected scrap metal and wood.<\/p>\n Hamel has 17 Christmas trees, all fully decorated with separate themes.<\/p>\n Browne\u2019s son, Michael, who is 36, collects anything and everything related to black bears.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/em>When you have a large collection like that and it\u2019s displayed like that,\u201d Hamel said, \u201cand it\u2019s something that is important to you, it\u2019s often really calming to be in a space like that. It\u2019s just all the things that you love. It\u2019s soothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As far as Browne knew, Troy had no history of mental illness or any previous suicide attempts. After Andrew died, she received a distraught and frantic call from Troy with the news. She told him that she was on her way.<\/p>\n Ms. Browne said she called him when she got to the Tacoma Bridge. No answer. And then again, at the Manette Bridge. No answer. When she reached their home, the back door was open. And then she found him. The phone call was the last time they spoke.<\/p>\n Troy Nelson did not leave a note, but did leave some things meticulously arranged by his computer, including a key to the house, burial plans for the two brothers, and bills.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>I don\u2019t know really what I thought,\u201d Ms. Browne said. \u201cAll I could do was just scream.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nelson family is boxing up Andrew\u2019s \u201cStar Trek\u201d collection to prepare it for auction. His ashes will be placed in an urn carved in the likeness of the supermodel Bettie Page<\/a>. (He was a fan.) Troy\u2019s ashes will be placed in a \u201cStar Trek\u201d lunchbox.<\/p>\n If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to <\/em>SpeakingOfSuicide.com\/resources<\/em><\/a> for a list of additional resources.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n