- Date Of Birth: October 27, 1935
- Date Of Death: December 7, 2021
- State: Florida
Shirley Raker Nelson, 86, went to her heavenly home and to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on December 7, 2021. Shirley was born October 27, 1935, to Davis Raker and Jenny Vause Raker, in Crawfordville, Florida.
During her early years, she enjoyed the time that her family spent in Newport, Florida during World War II, while her dad worked in the shipyards building land barges to be used in the invasion on D Day. Her family moved to Tallahassee and she graduated from Leon High School in 1953, and from the secretarial program at Lively Vo Tech, after which she worked in the Registrar’s Office at Florida State University.
During her work at FSU, she met a dashing young veteran named Charlie Paul Nelson, whom she married on July 17, 1955 (she insisted he graduate first!). Shirley and Paul had two sons, David Park Nelson and John Perry Nelson, and lived their entire married life of over 64 years in Tallahassee until Paul’s death in 2019. Shirley was a founding teacher of East Hill Baptist Church’s preschool, where she was a member since 1958, and taught Sunday School to children and youth for 50 years. She took great pride in the 22 years she worked in the admitting office of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, and was an active member and officer in the TMH retiree organization.
Those who knew and loved her would say that Shirley was a devoted Christian who devoted her life to caring for others. She was also affectionately known as “techno-Granny,” because of her love for and proficiency with a variety of electronic “gadgets.” She took great delight in her sons, her nieces Diane, Cyndy, and Karen, whom she affectionately called “her girls,”; her grandchildren and great-grandson, and looked forward to meeting the great-grandson on the way.
She was a shining example of how to love unconditionally. Shirley is predeceased by her husband, Paul, and her beloved (and very large) cat, Twix, who provided great comfort to her after Paul’s passing.
She is survived by her brother, Dave Raker (Susan); her sons Park (Li) and Perry; her grandchildren Kenny (Carolina), Bethany, Alex, Morgan Olivia, and Matthew; her great-grandson Charlie; and a host of other relatives with whom she shared great times, much laughter, and good food.
