Bernice Evelyn Nelson

Bernice Evelyn (née Tobin) Nelson, originally of Boston (Roslindale), Massachusetts and late of Elizabethton, Tennessee, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday evening, November 13, 2021 (22 Tishrei 5782), on her own terms and timeline; she was aged 78. Graveside services will be held on Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 10:00 AM at Mountain Home Veterans Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee. In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Bernice's memory to the Independence First Aid Squad at 73rescue.org Support Us.

Services will be officiated by Father Dennis Kress of Mountain City, Tennessee; and directed by Monte Vista Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 1900 E. Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, TN; 423-282-2631, with musical selections chosen by Bernice played on the bagpipes. Condolences and memories may be shared with the Nelson family by visiting www.montevistafunerals.com.

Known to her friends as Bern, and the 1970's CB community as "Boston Baby", Bernice grew up in Roslindale, Mass. and summered with her family on Cape Cod. She went to nursing school at Boston City Hospital School of Nursing, and she trained and worked at Boston City Hospital, becoming a Registered Nurse.

One night a young Navy sailor from Detroit, Michigan went to a pahty with a shortage of ladies present. He and some friends went to the nursing school to invite some more ladies to the pahty. One of the nursing students they invited was his future wife and the love of his life, Bernice. Lewellyn (Lyle) and Bernice would later move to Vienna, New Jersey to raise their family.

Bernice was an honored founding member of the Independence Township Volunteer First Aid Squad, in 1972. As Lyle was away for months at a time at sea, she was very self-sufficient and capable, throwing her two, then three, and later four, daughters into the car and speeding off to the scene for the First Aid Squad. Her daughters joke that those early, sometimes grim experiences, produced a mortician, a nurse, a parole officer, and a veterinary assistant, all with very strong stomachs.

Please visit 73rescue.org/history.html for History- Independence First Aid Squad Loyal To Our Duty to read the history and see a picture of Bernie via 1972.

She loved reading books, traveling, collecting Hummels and fine china, daydreaming about Rock Hudson, and going to the theater; and never missed a season of the Warren County Playhouse. She took regular trips into New York City on the Greyhound Bus with her daughters to see Broadway Musicals and the annual Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall. Always on the lookout for a good bargain, she loved shopping at Filene's Basement in Boston, the factory outlets in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Sunday trips to Flemington Cut Glass. She proudly retained her Boston accent and would be delighted when people would comment on it, and was a loud and proud lifetime fan of the Red Sox. She was a Mom who was all about manners, thank you notes, and chewing with your mouth closed, but neither she nor her Aunt Beth Tobin (of Boston and OBM) could refrain from eye rolls at the horror of her daughter's Jersey accents. We lovingly say that she had a black belt in Snark.

Lyle later moved the family to 22 acres on a mountain in rural Tennessee, to escape the pesky neighbors and high taxes of New Jersey. Here Bernice became very active in the local animal shelter, offering fostering and finding forever homes to many cats and dogs, many of whom stayed with the family. She continued her work as an RN at Ivy Hall Nursing Home. After retiring, she enjoyed traveling to Boston to see her lifelong BFF Peg Downing-Bouvier, and her daughters and grandchildren in California, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Bernice survived cancer and a stroke, but had health problems that eventually stopped her traveling. Her last plane trip was to California, to attend the Bat Mitzvah of her granddaughter. Her last road trip was to Folly Beach, South Carolina and to Louisville, Kentucky, with her youngest daughter for a Billy Strings concert which she loved, because she's a badass.

She settled in with her oldest and youngest daughters for the remainder of her days on the mountain in Tennessee, surrounded by her beloved dogs and cats.

Bernice is preceded in passing by her parents, Evelyn (née MacNaught) Tobin and Francis Xavier Tobin, Of Blessed Memories; her maternal Aunts (OBM) and several of her maternal Cousins (OBM), and her husband, Llewellyn William Nelson, Of Blessed Memory. She is survived by her daughters, Laurie (Orlando) Nelson, Yvonne (Jim) Nelson-Bolen, Jennifer (Brad) Nelson, and Joyce Nelson; her grandchildren, Francis-Xavier (Keenah) Akst, Harumi (Dean) Chavez, Rodrigo (Maria) Chavez, Antigone-Violeta Salas, and William Bolen; her three great-grandchildren; her nieces and nephews of the Downing and Leon family's of Boston, and the Nelson family of Michigan; her beloved Chihuahua Cindy Lou Who, and many other fur children and fur grandchildren.

She was the glue and the rock that held our family together, and her loss is deeply felt and difficult to endure. We take comfort in knowing that she has been reunited with her loved ones waiting for her on the other side, and that all pain and discomfort has come to an end. We love and miss you Ma, please save us a seat at the buffet.