Helen Nelson Obituary

Mom, it’s now nearly a year since you died. All of us miss you very much. I know I certainly do. I miss the wonderful phone conversations we had; I miss the eagerly anticipated visits to Chicago to see you that we treasured. I think of you often. Almost every day, I think of something I’d like to share with you but, only a fraction of a second later, realize that the time of sharing is over. Certainly, every time I do something alone that we used to do together—like going to the Moody Church, for example—your absence weighs heavily upon me. As this one-year anniversary approaches, Mom, you are very much in my thoughts. I have a heap of living yet to do, as the saying goes, but I look forward to that day when, at the Eastern Gate, we’ll joyously greet each other once again.

Helen was a great friend of our family and I recall fondly many memories of playing with her sons when I was a child. She was always fun-loving and kind; treating me like one of her own sons. My late father and mother enjoyed the company of Helen and Herm on many, many occasions both at the Nelsons and at our house. My wife and I are most thankful though for how gracious, accepting and friendly Helen was to my wife, when we married. My wife had not grown up at Moody Church, and was not familiar with the intricate social circle that grew out of the church. Nonetheless, Helen reached out to her and made her feel welcome in a very special and meaningful way. We thank God for her.