Jean Nelson

Jean Nelson
December 7, 2022
Rocky Mount, North Carolina - Jean Davenport Nelson, age 91, passed away on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. Born in Edgecombe County, NC on March 31, 1931, she was the daughter of the late David W. Davenport and Grace Savage Davenport.
Jean graduated from Rocky Mount High School and from Salem College with a degree in education. A Navy-wife for three and a half years, she and her husband Joe returned to Rocky Mount following his commissioned service. She was a dedicated member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Rocky Mount and St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church in Pine Knoll Shores, as well as a former member of the Junior Guild and the Twentieth Century Study Club. She enjoyed traveling, especially in Europe, which was her prime interest, and in her younger years, boating along the North Carolina waters. In recent years, Jean spent much time at her home in Pine Knoll Shores and enjoyed collecting art. A dedicated and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and dear friend to many, Jean will be dearly missed and never forgotten.
Jean is survived by her husband of 69 years, Joseph H. Nelson; her four children, Neill Davenport Nelson and wife, Stella, of Rocky Mount, Kimberley Nelson Slason and husband, Michael, of Orlando, FL, Lorraine Nelson Schacht and husband, John, of Rocky Mount, and Julia Nelson Pittman and husband, Leonard, of Staunton, VA; her seven grandchildren, Graham Nelson (Hannah), Paige Grimball (Heyward), Matthew Slason (Alex), Christopher Slason, Joseph Schacht, Nelson Schacht, and Grace Pittman; her four great-grandchildren, Ellerbe Grace and Nelson Grimball, and Ridge and Jackson Nelson; and her sisters, Vivian Davenport Gaythwaite and Clare Davenport Folsom.
A Funeral Service to celebrate Jean's life will be held on Monday, December 12, 2022, at 11:00 AM at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 301 S. Circle Drive, Rocky Mount, NC 27804 with Father George Greer officiating. Burial will follow the service at Pineview Cemetery. The family will receive friends and relatives on Sunday, December 11, 2022, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made in Jean's memory to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 301 S. Circle Drive, Rocky Mount, NC 27804 or St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church, 920 Salter Path Road, Salter Path, NC 28575 or to Salem College, 601 S. Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.
Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com.