Thérèse M. Nelson, 93, passed away at a local hospital on Wednesday, February 11, 2015. She was born on July 30, 1921 in Vineuil St. Firmin, France and grew up in nearby Chantilly.
During World War II, due to the occupation of France by the Germans, she was unable to pursue her dream of a university education. Instead, she had to work to help support her family while her father fought in the war.
It was while working as a bilingual secretary for the Allied Headquarters in Paris that she met U.S. Army Capt. Robert A. Nelson. After their marriage, they settled in Massachusetts in 1946, living in Lexington, Cambridge, Arlington and Watertown. They subsequently became one of the first families to settle in the Conantum-Kalmia Woods neighborhood of Concord, Mass. During that time, she, her husband and three children spent three and a half years in La Spezia, Italy, where they acquired a lifelong love of all things Italian. Since the summer of 2013, she resided at the Bedford Falls community in Bedford, N.H.
A Parisian in America, she was a woman of artistic skills and esthetic tastes, with a lifelong love of travel and learning. A neighbor, who was a professor of linguistics, once tried to work with her to help her lose her French accent. Fortunately, he did not succeed.
She enjoyed reading and writing (in three languages), gardening, the arts and music of many types. She was also a phenomenal cook. She loved animals of all kinds, especially cats, and marveled at Nature and the beauty and fragileness of the world around her. Above all, she was a loving mother and doting grandmother.
Mrs. Nelson was predeceased by her husband in 2006, and by her son, Philip E. Nelson in 2002.
She leaves a daughter, Patricia M. Pastuszak of Nantucket; her daughter-in-law, Liz Nelson Weaver and her husband, David, of Boston; and her daughter, Nicole T. Grinnell and her husband, Kenneth, of Manchester, N.H. She also leaves five cherished grandchildren: Peter Nelson of Krakow, Poland; David Nelson of Washington, D.C.; Mark Nelson and his fiancée, Tam Duong, of Boston; Renee Grinnell of Richmond, VA and Graham Grinnell, also of Richmond. She is also survived by numerous family members in France, including her sisters, Anne-Marie Desneiges and Régine Dubus.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory, Manchester, NH is assisting the family with arrangements. Memorial donations may be sent to: Doctors Without Borders USA/Médecins Sans Frontières, P.O. Box 5030 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030; or to Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011.