The facility opened in 1978, and Mrs. Nelson was particularly important in the early years, as the facility struggled to get going, for the care she exercised in expenditures, said Ruth Bonner, also a former board member.
"She took a personal interest in the residents - talking to them" and doing all she could to make the new facility feel like home, Bonner said. "She gave a feminine touch to the choice for furniture and even carpeting, particularly the area surrounding the two fireplaces."
Valerie Byrd, executive assistant to Cadbury's president and CEO, said Mrs. Nelson "worked so hard and contributed so much - even planting bulbs in the garden. She was a lovely, lovely lady . . . and one of the first people I met when I started working here."
The nonprofit facility named its health care center, opened in 1991, in Mrs. Nelson's honor in 1993.
Mrs. Nelson was a member of the Moorestown Friends School Committee and had also served on the school's search committee for a headmaster. She was an active member of the Moorestown Friends Meeting, where she served as an overseer and on many committees.
She was a former board member for Zurbrugg Memorial Hospital in Riverside.
She was a graduate of Earlham College in Indiana.
She enjoyed bridge, traveling and gardening.
She is survived by a son, Dave; a daughter, Sue; a grandson; a brother; and nieces and nephews. She was the widow of Dr. James D.
Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Aug. 11 at Moorestown Friends Meeting House, Main Street and Chester Avenue, Moorestown. Burial will be private in Greenlawn Cemetery, Moorestown.
Memorial contributions may be made to either the American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia 19102; or to Moorestown Friends School, Main Street, Moorestown, N.J. 08057.
S. Joseph Hagenmayer's e-mail address is jhagenmayer@phillynews.com.
