Louise Nelson

Obituary for Louise Pierce Nelson Raye and her identical twin Faye were born Jan. 25, 1918 on their Price grandparent’s farm near Tyler. As a child, Raye remembered riding into Tyler in a horse drawn buggy. When she was 7 her parents, Clifton Pierce and Eunice Price Pierce, moved their family to Beaumont where he became a pharmacist and ran his own drug store. Raye was a graduate of Beaumont High School and Louisiana State University. She remained a life-long, loyal Tiger supporter. Three weeks ago she joined the Pi Beta Phi’s 75 year Diamond Celebration in Baton Rouge as a founding member of the LSU chapter. In 1946 she married Charles Edward Nelson of Superior, Wisconsin. Their first 7 years together were spent in Colorado Springs, where their three children Nancy, Pierce, and John were born. The family moved to Houston in 1954 where Raye remained for the next 50 years. For 23 of those years she was a 6th grade teacher at Cunningham Elementary. She and her husband purchased land in Lindale from various family heirs and for some 35 years raised Black Angus cattle on Raynel Farm with the help of many fine folks in the Lindale area. Several years ago she returned to Tyler and her early roots, moving into The Hamptons where she made many special friends. She joined First Presbyterian Church and enjoyed affiliations with Tyler’s Pi Beta Phi alumni group and the East Texas Geneological Society, of which she was a charter member. Until the end she continued her interest and involvement in operating Raynel Farm. She is survived by Nancy Nelson Dickson and Jay Dickson; John and Mindy Nelson; Pierce Nelson and Patti Robinson; grandchildren Price Dickson, Amanda Dickson and her husband Patrick Kelly, Luke Nelson, and Leslie Nelson, and great-grandchildren Niesen and James Kelly. Our family would like to express our deepest thanks to the personnel in MICU of Tyler’s Trinity Mother Frances Hospital for their competent, caring, and dedicated care. A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, November 19th at 11:00 AM. For more information or to express condolences, visit www.stewartfamilyfuneral.com.

Louise Nelson

January 25, 1918 - November 12, 2011