She met the love of her life, Terrell, in speech class at Howard College. His line to her was, “I’m writing a speech about how a fellow should invite a girl on a date. Do you have any suggestions?” Pretty clever, eh?! They became engaged the night before he left for WWII, and were married in 1946. Rex was born barely 9 months later!
Frances and Terrell found their dream home on two acres of land in Center Point, and turned it into a Garden of Eden that produced delicious vegetables, gorgeous flowers, a thrilling zip line, club houses, haunted houses, tree houses, a gathering area around a magic fire pit, far-ranging Thinkniks in front of their fireplace on stuffed pillows, and the most amazing tire swing this side of the west coast. They created The Magic Place in their woods, and taught hundreds of young people about nature and life there.
There were two pivotal churches in her life: First, 85th St Baptist- the loving support of those people can’t be overstated, and she was grateful the rest of her life. She taught Sunday School and made many lifelong friends there. Then Center Point Baptist- she and Terrell were youth leaders for years, published a (mimeographed) monthly youth newsletter called The Live Wire, and produced many memorable Valentine’s Banquets, retreats and luaus in their back yard. More lifelong friends!
She and Terrell were able to travel the world for free during the years she worked at Brownell Travel Bureau.
A class at Green Valley Elementary undertook a year-long project in which the students visited Frances and Terrell a number of times to interview them about their lives and their perspectives on life. The result was a wonderful little book the class published, titled The Seed That Grew.
F&T were featured in a moving documentary on WWII in which Alabama Public Television interviewed Alabama men and women who fought, and the people who supported them back home. You can watch WWII: Alabama Remembers online here:
https://video.aptv.org/video/alabama-public-television-documentaries-wwii-alabama-remembers/
But perhaps their most cherished accomplishments were the deep and abiding friendships they had, and becoming beloved surrogate parents and grandparents and mentors for countless young people. The give and take of the abundant love and growth in those relationships was a joy to behold.
Frances had a special gift of opening her heart to anyone and everyone. Their problems and joys became hers, and not just figuratively. She was a true empath before anyone knew what that was. Trips to restaurants usually resulted in someone jumping out of their seats and exclaiming loudly, “Miz Nelson!” This was inevitably followed by squeals and hugs as the entire place turned to see what the commotion was.
When she was eleven, she learned the doctors had given her a year to live when she overheard her mother telling the neighborhood kids that was the reason that she couldn’t come out and play. We are delighted that she made it to 96!
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