Dorothy E. Nelson

Dorothy (Esther Josephine Anderson) Nelson's life for the first 100 years was full of activities with her husband Vince, her family, her students and many special friends. Dorothy passed away comfortably March 22, 2014, at the age of 105, a resident of Rosewood Care Center, Moline, having been a Rock Island resident most of her adult life. Trimble Funeral and Cremation Center, Moline, is assisting in arrangements. Family burial services will be conducted April 11, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. at Beulah Cemetery, followed by a Celebration of Life service at Beulah Presbyterian Church, Orion, Illinois (south of Coal Valley) with a luncheon immediately thereafter at the church for family and friends.

Dorothy was born to Adelia Peterson Anderson and Gust Anderson on September 20, 1908, in Ophiem, Illinois. A graduate of Orion High School and of Augustana College in 1930, she started her teaching career in 1928 in a one-room school in Rural Township Rock Island County where her brother, Robert, was a first grader. She also taught her sister, Marion, for one year. She was a mathematics teacher at Joy High School, Reynolds High School, the Villa de Chantel, Rock Island, and Central Junior High School, Rock Island, until retiring in 1968. She has been fondly remembered by her many students, especially those at Reynolds.

On November 14, 1931, she eloped with Charles Vincent Nelson as in those years, teachers could not be married. Due in part to her dedicated care of her husband, they enjoyed many years working and traveling together. He died in 1988 of diabetes complications.

As a member of AAUW, Delta Kappa Gama, Beta Epilson, and Retired Teachers, she served in many capacities. She enjoyed being a Girl Scout leader, a Friend of the Rock Island Library, and participated in many community activities such as attending musical events with her sister, Marion Wilson, who died in 2010 at the age of 95. Their mother, Adelia, lived to the age of
102 ½.

A lifelong member of Beulah Presbyterian Church in Rural Township, she served as a Sunday School teacher, Deacon, TTS member, and as the "always present" worker for every church activity. She drove the many miles back and forth, day or night, even well into her nineties to attend these activities. She never missed any annual Beulah pie-making or ice cream social event as a loyal church member.

Perhaps her greatest gift was to her family as the dependable "Aunt Dorothy" who was always there with assistance and participation for every event in their lives.

Survivors include sister-in-law Barbara Anderson; nieces Dorothy Ann Gift, Coal Valley; Judith Dalmasso, East Moline; Cheryl Yauch, Elmhurst, Illinois; Linda Jovanovic, Grayslake, Illinois; Adele Coulter, Burlington, Iowa; nephews Charles Anderson, Orion; Rick Anderson, Rock Island; Tim Anderson, Coal Valley; the family of Bill Wilson, West Virginia; and many great nieces and nephews. Her mother, father, husband, brothers Walter and Robert Anderson, sister Marion Wilson, and nephews William R. Wilson, Earl Gift, Paul Anderson, and niece Patricia Lucas Anderson all preceded her in death.

A special thank you to those individuals who provided the daily care and comfort for her in recent years that permitted her to continue to enjoy her own home surroundings: Audra Silvia, Donna Potter, Cindy Akers, along with the staff from Homebound Health Care, and her special friends from Beulah Presbyterian Church.

friends are invited to share stories and condolences and light a candle in Dorothy's memory at www.TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.