Selma Nelson

Selma was born on February 2, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Adolph Wagner and Rachel Lowenstein Wagner. She attended Brooklyn College where she earned her BA, and then went on to study for an MA in English Literature at Cornell University in Ithaca New York.

Born with a bold and adventurous spirit, Selma was on the road before Jack Kerouac made it popular. In her twenties she held a variety of jobs, from waitressing in the Catskills, to working retail in Manhattan or a carnival in California, to picking beans in Canada, though her sharp wit, and willingness to say what she felt, left her poorly suited for many such positions.

In 1957, Selma married David Nelson, a fellow graduate student at Cornell. Their daughter, Stephanie, was born the following year. They moved to Lewiston when David was offered a position in the English Department at Bates College. Their son, James, was born in Lewiston in 1962. The following year the Nelsons built their house on Franklin Street, a home Selma would occupy for the next sixty-three years.

In the mid-1960’s Selma began teaching English, first at night school and then at Lewiston High School, where she found her true calling. For more than three decades she taught World Lit, British Lit, and courses of her own devising, such as Humor and Satire, and touched the lives of generations of high school students. More than a few of her former students attributed their success in college to the rigorous academic training they had received from Selma. Along with teaching, Selma supervised the literary magazine Collage, co-directed the senior play and for many years led the Senior Class Trip to London (sometimes London and Paris), a city she knew well and loved.

In the 1980’s Selma earned a Master’s Degree in Art History from the University of Maine. She retired from teaching in 1998.

Selma Nelson is survived by her daughter Stephanie, her son James and his wife Lisa, her four grandchildren, Elizabeth Lockard, Nathaniel Nelson, Jonathan Nelson, and Abigail Nelson, and her three great granddaughters, Felicity Lockard, Victoria Lockard, and Penelope Lockard.

An Open House/Memorial Gathering will be held on October 17, 11:00 – 3:00 at Selma’s home, 101 Franklin Street in Lewiston. All are welcome to drop in during those hours and join in the celebration of her life.

Arrangements are in the care of The Fortin & Pinette Group, 305 Alfred A Plourde Parkway, Lewiston.

Condolences and memories may be shared with Selma's family and friends on the obituary page of the funeral home website. www.dignitymemorial.com/3558