Martha Nelson

Martha Veazey Daniel Nelson, aunt of William D. Hillis, MD, of Baylor University, was taken to the Lord from her sleep on Thursday night, October 2, 2008.

A graveside service will be 9 a.m. Thursday, October 9, at Brearly Cemetery in Dardanelle, Arkansas where she will be buried between her husband and her mother. Rev. Mike Smith will officiate.

Family members will be available for visitation 7 p.m. – 8 p.m., Tuesday, October 7 at OakCrest Funeral Home, 4520 Bosque Blvd., Waco,Texas and a memorial service will be 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct 8, at Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, with Dr. Raymond Bailey officiating.

Martha was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas on May 14, 1923, the third daughter of William Arthur Daniel and Gail Veazey Daniel.

At the age of 12 she went to live with her aunt, Carra Veazey Self and her husband, Carey Self, in Houston, where Carey was the manager of the Houston baseball club. While Martha was there, her aunt died in childbirth on Christmas Day, 1936, and Martha returned to Dardanelle, where she completed high school in 1939 and went to Arkansas Technical College to major in Home Economics.

During WWII, she met and became engaged to Lewis Montgomery Nelson, whom she married on his return from service in Europe, where he had participated in the Battle of the Bulge on the border between Luxemburg and Germany. Lewis and Martha married on June 23, 1945. They spent the early years of their marriage moving from one army base to another until her husband's discharge, when they settled in his hometown in Danville, Arkansas, and Lewis began a career at Sugar Creek Creamery. They reared their two children, Thomas Lewis Nelson and Gail Beth Nelson, principally in Russellville, Arkansas.

During the time the children were in college, Martha worked for Morton Foods as secretary to the chief executive. She had a keen and sometimes irreverent sense of humor. After the children were grown, Martha and Lewis moved to Mount Nebo, from which Lewis commuted to his job until his death in November, 1993.

Throughout her life, Martha enjoyed being an expert homemaker, smocking elaborate garments for her grandchildren, preparing gourmet dishes, and enjoying decorating her home, and following the latest styles. In 2007 she moved because of increasing problems with her health, to Lake Shore Estates, a retirement complex in Waco, Texas, where she stayed for 13 months and is remembered for her statuesque height and many beautiful clothes.

She had recently enjoyed moving to and decorating an apartment at The French Quarter in Waco, with the help of her niece, Susan Nye, and son, Tom Nelson.

Martha was a member of Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco and was active for many years of her life as a member of the First Baptist churches of Dardanelle and Russellville.

Martha was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and three sisters, Catherine Burnett, Carra Coffee, and Rosemary Nye.

She is survived by her daughter, Gail Beth Eoff and husband John Eoff of Hot Springs and son, Thomas Lewis Nelson and wife Cathy of Nashville, Tennessee, and , Arkansas; grandsons, Jordan and John Nelson Eoff and Elliott Nelson; and granddaughters, Dru and Meg Nelson; nephews, William D. Hillis and his wife, Argye, of Waco, Dan Nye and his wife, Susan, of Avon, Minnesota and Blake Nye and his wife, Vaughn, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, and two great-granddaughters.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Seventh and James Baptist Church, 602 James Avenue, Waco, TX 76706.