Helen P. Nelson

Helen Peyer Nelson, lovingly known by an entire community as “Mama Helen,” passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday, January 27, 2022, after 100 years very well-lived.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 11, 1921, she soon moved to Florida with her parents where they settled in Popash and then Sebring. Helen graduated from Sebring High School in 1938 and thereafter completed her education at Jones Business School in Jacksonville, Florida. She then returned to Sebring and began her career in the employ of Gene Sebring at Highlands Abstract Company.

Around that time, Helen began dating a handsome young graduate of the Carlisle Military School in Bamberg, South Carolina. Marion H. Nelson, the son of Sebring residents, Ruth and Jack Stephenson, would become the love of her life. They were married on July 11, 1943.

After he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corp in 1945, Marion and Helen joined the family business and began managing Stephenson Nelson Funeral Home in Avon Park. They remained there until 1951, when they moved to Lake Wales to establish the Marion Nelson Funeral Home.

It was in Lake Wales that Marion and Helen became an integral part of the local community and raised their three sons Jim, Chris, and Barrett (Mama Helen’s indisputable favorite). Together they worked in lockstep at the funeral home, and for fun enjoyed traveling, dancing, community service, attending state and national funeral director's conventions and supporting their beloved Florida State Seminoles. The two were a picture of devotion but they understood the importance of the type of sense of humor and healthy compromise that makes a marriage last. Some recall a time when Papa Marion wanted a boat but Mama Helen wanted a patio—the end result was a new boat named “Mama’s Patio.” After 47 years of marriage, Marion preceded Helen in death on February 2, 1991. Upon Helen’s passing, the two were reunited in Heaven after almost 31 years apart.

Though difficult to encapsulate her 100 years on paper, suffice it to say that Helen was the life of the party and her glass was always half-full—and if it wasn’t, you’d surely hear the ice clinking in her tumbler as she lovingly shook it at the person next headed to the kitchen. Renowned for her culinary skills, she’d happily dish seconds of the best venison stew in the Southeast—however, a request for another serving of her famous ribs would be granted only when the bones of your first helping were sufficiently cleaned. Stalwart in her love, support, and work ethic, she was a source of constancy and stability for her family and friends. For these, and for so many other reasons, Helen was dearly loved by so very many.

During life, Helen was a devoted member of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. She was a longtime member of the Lake Wales Woman’s Club, the Pegasus Mardi Gras Crew, the Eastern Star and the Chairman of the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Day. She remained active in her role at the Funeral Home and continued to attend the funeral director's conventions with her son, Barrett, well into her 90s. Her proudest accomplishments, though, were the 3 sons—Dr. James Nelson and his wife, Janie, Chris Nelson and his wife, Brenda, Barrett Nelson and his wife, Shelley—12 Grandchildren, 23 Great Grandchildren, and 2 Great-Great-Grandchildren she leaves behind—each of them a bit better, tougher, and more courageous for having belonged to such a matriarch.

Helen’s life will be honored at a visitation from 4:00 until 7:00 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, at Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am on Wednesday, February 2, at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. Interment will follow in the Lake Wales Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made in her memory to the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd’s Memorial Garden Fund (221 South 4 ^th Street, Lake Wales, FL 33853).