Helen Laverne Brittain Nelson

Helen LaVerne Brittain Nelson September 4, 1923 May 5, 2009 Helen LaVerne Brittain Nelson, 85, of Woodway, died Tuesday, May 5, 2009, at a local hospital. Services will be 11:00 a. m., Saturday, May 9, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Chapel with Rev. Garry Bone officiating. Entombment will be at Waco Memorial Mausoleum. Visitation with the family will be 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Friday, May 8, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey. Mrs. Nelson was born September 4, 1923, in Taft, Texas, to Joseph L. & Laura Burgess Brittain. She graduated from Taft High School in 1941. After graduation, she attended Baylor University and graduated in the Centennial Class of 1945 with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. After the end of the WWII, she married William Hargrove Nelson on February 11, 1946, in Taft. The newlyweds moved to Austin to allow Bill to complete his education from the University of Texas in 1948, and he went to work for the Humble Oil Co. ExxonMobil in west Texas. They moved to Midland, TX, in 1957, and they were active in the First Baptist Church where she was a WMU director, Acteen leader and GA leader. She was also president of the PTA, lifetime member of the PTA, and they were charter members of the Petroleum Pioneer Club in Midland. After Bill's retirement from ExxonMobil in 1982, they moved to Woodway. She was a member of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. LaVerne had a deep love for Baylor University and Baylor athletics. She was a member of the Old Main Society, the President's Club, the Tip Off Club, the Heart of the Order, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Yucca Garden Club, the Baylor Bear Foundation, supported the Strecker Museum, the Mayborn Museum, the Armstrong-Browning Library, a life member of the Baylor Alumni Association. Bill and LaVerne joined the Golden Bear Circle Endowed Scholar Society by funding the William H. and LaVerne B. Nelson Endowed Scholarship. She is survived by her daughter, Jan Spoede and husband, Trey, of Woodway; sons, Britt Nelson and wife, Melinda, of Arlington, Terry Nelson and wife, Carol, of Houston; grandchildren, Brittainy Holmes and husband, Bradley, Hunter Spoede, Rachel, Erin, Zachary, Matthew, Adam and Joey Nelson, and Blake and Eric Nelson; great grandchildren, Taryn, Katherine and London Holmes. She is also survived by sisters, Villa Mae Roden of Portland, TX; Lillian Gary of Pasadena, TX; Etta East of College Station, TX and Ruth Averitt of Woodway; and numerous nieces and nephews. Her life was a sermon about serving God and doing your best for Him. Pallbearers are Hunter Spoede, Zac Nelson, Matt Nelson, Adam Nelson, Blake Nelson, Joey Nelson and Eric Nelson. Honorary pallbearers are Joe Bill Averitt, Kip Averitt, Kyle Averitt and Alan Griffin. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that memorials be made to the William H. and LaVerne B. Nelson Endowed Scholarship Fund, c/o Baylor University Development, One Bear Place, #97050, Waco, TX 76798-7050. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com.