Deidre Ann Nelson

She was born in East Orange, NJ, in 1948. She is considered one of the first baby boomers as her father, Army medic Joseph Ellis Paulin, met her mother, Irish nurse Kathleen Eggers, while in Great Britain during the war.

The family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where she grew up. She graduated from Waggoner HS in 1966 and attended Western Kentucky University.

She moved to Jacksonville in 1975 and worked for the Duval County School Board as a payroll clerk. She met her husband , teacher Craig Nelson in 1986. They were married in 1987 and spent 35 blissful years together.

She went back to school, earning her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from UNF. She taught elementary school at Lola Mae Culver and S.P. Livingston before joining her husband at Highlands MS, where he taught music. In 2006, they both transferred to Hyde Grove Elementary from which they retired in 2012.

She loved cruising, visiting the Caribbean, Alaska, and the British Isles. She also loved her pets, adopting and raising almost 50 dogs and cats over the years.

She is survived by her husband Craig, brothers Bill Paulin (Martha) of Louisville, and John Paulin of Jacksonville. Her three children are Timothy Nelson of Callahan, EMT Danielle Holman of Jacksonville, and MSgt Mary Medina of Kathleen, Georgia; also, grandchildren Giovanni, Hailey (deceased), Marquese , Gabriel, Dayana and Dominique.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Ayla’s Acres, a no-kill shelter in St. Augustine.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hgmandarin.com for the Nelson family.