Phyllis Johnson Nelson, a Cape Ann native, died at her home in Boca Raton, FL on April 30, 2012 at the age of 83. She was predeceased in 2002 by her husband, Edwin A. Nelson, Jr. Mrs. Nelson was born in Gloucester on September 14, 1928. She was a graduate of the New England Baptist Hospital School of Nursing and Stonehill College, from which she received her bachelor of arts degree cum laude in 1976. Mrs. Nelson received a master of education degree in 1980 from Florida Atlantic University.
Although Mrs. Nelson was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology upon her 1946 graduation with honors from Gloucester High School, she chose to leave Gloucester for nursing school in Boston instead, receiving her registered nurse degree from the New England Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in 1949. She continued her education at Boston University, where she met Mr. Nelson, a young Naval officer and a veteran of World War II, who was attending the Boston University School of Law. After a brief courtship, the Nelsons eloped and were married in Old Orchard Beach, ME, on July 22, 1950.
The Nelsons made their home in Brockton, MA for 25 years, during which Mrs. Nelson continued her nursing career. Mrs. Nelson served for many years as the administrator of the Lutheran Nursing Home of Brockton, raising four children while working full time. In 1975, the Nelsons moved to Boca Raton. Mrs. Nelson continued her career in nursing and nursing home administration until 1998, when she retired at the age of 70.
Following her retirement, Mrs. Nelson enjoyed traveling throughout the United States and abroad to visit her children and grandchildren. She had just returned from a trip to Connecticut for the ceremonial swearing in of her daughter, Hon. Donna Nelson Heller, as a Connecticut Superior Court judge a week before she died. Mrs. Nelson attended every graduation, wedding, bar mitzvah and christening, and she hosted a large family holiday gathering in her Florida home each year. In September 2011, Mrs. Nelson celebrated her 83rd birthday in Rockport with many members of her extended family, including children, grandchildren, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews. During that trip to the North Shore, Mrs. Nelson also reconnected with a classmate from the Gloucester High School Class of 1946, the sculptor David Black, who happened to be visiting Gloucester and speaking at the Cape Ann Museum.
Mrs. Nelson was the matriarch of a large and loving family, all of whom will miss her very much. She is survived by her children, Dr. Kristina Nelson Prodouz and her husband William P. Prodouz of Boston, Hon. Donna Nelson Heller and her husband, Norman S. Heller of Greenwich, CT, Andrea Nelson Elias and her husband, Peter J. Elias of Boca Raton, FL, and David E. Nelson and his wife, Kathy Kosior Nelson, also of Boca Raton; her grandchildren, Erica Nelson Morenoff and her husband, Daniel Morenoff of Dallas, TX, Daniel W. Prodouz and his wife, Stephanie McCleese of Austin, TX, Jacob Nelson Heller of Washington, DC, Lieutenant Shane D. Heller and his wife, Lauren Straus Heller of Jacksonville, FL; Gregory P. Elias and his wife Ellen B. Elias of Folly Beach, SC, and Donna-Kristina Elias of Boston; and her great-grandchildren, Eva, Abigail and Margaret Morenoff and Felix McCleese. Mrs. Nelson is also survived by her sisters, Kathleen Love of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Sharon Love Cook and her husband Oliver T. Cook of Beverly Farms, and Jeanne Love Boyle and her husband John Boyle of Revere; her brother, John B. Love and his wife Stephanie Love of La Canada, CA; her step-sister Mary Bunch of Frederick, MD; her sister-in-law Lillis Palmer (Robert Nelson) of Monument Beach, MA, her sister-in-law and brother-in-law Joan Nelson Nawrocki and Eugene Nawrocki, also of Monument Beach, and her sister-in-law and brother-in-law Teresa Nelson and Donald A. Nelson of Newport Beach, CA; and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, the late Edwin A. Nelson, Jr., Mrs. Nelson was predeceased by her father, David Johnson, her mother and stepfather, Mary E. (Jacobson) Johnson Love and John T. Love, her sisters, Doris F. (Johnson) Tully and Jacqueline Love, and her brothers-in-law Gerard P. Tully and Robert H. Nelson.
The funeral service for Mrs. Nelson was held on Friday, May 4, 2012 at Babione Funeral Home in Boca Raton. Mrs. Nelson’s ashes will be inurned with those of her husband at Arlington National Cemetery later this year.
In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested a donation be made in memory of Phyllis Johnson Nelson to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, 875 North Randolph Street, Suite 225, Arlington, VA 22203.
ARRANGEMENTS: In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested a donation be made in memory of Phyllis Johnson Nelson to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, 875 North Randolph Street, Suite 225, Arlington, VA 22203.
The funeral service for Mrs. Nelson was held on Friday, May 4, 2012 at Babione Funeral Home in Boca Raton. Mrs. Nelson’s ashes will be inurned with those of her husband at Arlington National Cemetery later this year.
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