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Obituaries

Centenarian Mary Nelson Loved Living in Wyandotte

A lifelong Wyandotte resident, former teacher and advocate for women's rights, Mary Nelson touched the lives of many in the community and beyond.

Wyandotte native and former longtime l teacher Mary Nelson died June 2. She was 102.

Born Oct. 6, 1908, in Wyandotte, the third of four daughters born to Fannie and Leroy Adair, Nelson lived here her entire life, except for her last couple of years. 

“She loved Wyandotte,” said her daughter-in-law Pat Nelson. “She would always say, ‘There’s no better place on Earth.’” 

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“People around the community knew Mary,” says the Rev. Dr. Alan Hanson, pastor of the , where Nelson was a member. “She was very independent and would take walks up and down the street, well into her 90s.” 

Church always played a central role in Nelson’s life. Her parents and grandparents–all lifelong Wyandotte residents–were some of the founding members of the First United Methodist Church, which Nelson joined at age 8. 

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“This congregation is a little over 150 years old, and Mary was a member for 94 of those years,” Hanson said. “That’s quite an amazing part of our history that she was a part of.”

Nelson graduated from Wyandotte’s in 1927 in one of its first graduating classes.  

After high school, Nelson attended Albion College. She graduated from Albion in 1931 with a degree in English and a teaching certificate. She later went on to earn her master’s degree from Wayne State University. 

Nelson worked as a substitute teacher before her marriage in 1937 to Emil Nelson. As was accepted practice then, Nelson quit her job and stayed home raising her two children until the youngest began school–even after the tragic death of her husband, who died in a fire in 1944. She also raised a nephew, James Pitts, after his mother became too ill to care for him. 

Nelson returned to the classroom full-time in 1950 as a third-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School. She retired from teaching in 1971 at age 63. 

A strong advocate of education for women, Nelson was the last surviving founding member of the Wyandotte-Downriver Branch of the American Association of University Women, one of the nation’s leading voices promoting educational equity for women and girls.  

She also was an active member of The Wyandotte Historical Society, the West Mound Cemetery Board, the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel and the Friends of . She frequently attended performances of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. 

Along with working in her huge flower garden until she was well into her 90s, another of Nelson’s great pleasures was watching the birds at her bird feeder.  

“She loved watching the birds through her entire life,” daughter-in-law Pat said. “She had a ‘pet’ cardinal that would come for his dinner every night and respond to her voice.”

Travel was another of Nelson’s lifelong passions. 

“Mary traveled extensively,” Hanson said. “I think she was on every continent but Antarctica. Her first trip, her son tells us, was when she was a young girl, and her aunt took her on a trip to Colorado, back in the 20s.” 

She continued traveling independently until she was well into her 80s, visiting India, Turkey, Spain, China, Egypt and more. 

But for Nelson, there was no place like home.  

“Isn’t it a great sense of contentment to feel like, ‘I’ve seen the world and the place where I live is the best,’” Hanson said.

Nelson is survived by her son, Emil (Patricia), and her nephew, James (Karen) Pitts.  She also is survived by many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, as well as many friends.  

A funeral was held June 6 at the First United Methodist Church of Wyandotte, followed by interment at the West Mound Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to , or to the Wyandotte Historical Society.

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