Winnie Nelson

Winifred “Winnie” Harrison Nelson, 84, of Bryan passed away peacefully at her home on Monday, January 12, 2009. A memorial service is set for 4 p.m. Monday, January 19, at First Presbyterian Church, located at 1100 Carter Creek Pkwy. in Bryan, to be followed by a reception at the church.

Winnie was born in 1924 to Fred Harrison, a Congregational minister, and his wife, Florence Allen Harrison, and grew up in Elmhurst, Ill. As a teenager, Winnie regularly rode the train into Chicago to waitress at the Stouffer’s restaurant in the Loop to earn money to pay for voice lessons. She attended York High School in Elmhurst and then Knox College, where she studied voice and graduated, at age 19, as a member of Phi Mu.

In 1945, she married Robert Hartley Nelson. Together they raised five children, first in Chicago, then in Elmhurst, where Winnie was active in community music and theater, then in Inverness, Ill. While living in Inverness, Winnie sang with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, performed in community operatic productions and educational opera programs in the Greater Chicago Area for the Chicago Lyric Opera Guild, and earned a master’s degree in vocal performance from Northwestern University. During these years she spent summers with her family as part of the Congregational Summer Assembly in Frankfort, Mich., where she sang with the summer choir and performed in many musicals.

Once their “nest was empty,” Winnie and Bob moved first to Bay City, Mich., and then to Champaign, Ill. In the early 1980s, they came to Bryan, where they lived out the rest of their lives. In Bryan, Winnie continued to pursue her love of music and community theater. At the First Presbyterian Church (where in later years she was ordained an elder) she sang in the choir and served as accompanist for several of the church’s musical groups, including the Men’s Ensemble and the children’s choir. With The Theatre Company and StageCenter, she performed in many memorable stage productions, including musicals, over the years, including the role of Mother Superior in both “The Sound of Music” and “Nunsense.”

In 1994, shortly after Bob’s death, the Arts Council of Brazos Valley honored Winnie and Bob with the D. A. Andy Anderson Outstanding Contributor to the Arts Award for their many contributions to cultural life in the Brazos Valley. Winnie also loved to play golf at Briarcrest and in the last years of her life became an avid mahjongger.

Winnie was preceded in death by her husband Robert, son Steven, sister Charlotte and parents.

Survivors include her children Wendy Nelson of Bryan, Betsy Nelson of Sarasota, Fla., Richard Nelson of San Antonio and Jonathan Nelson of New York City, sisters Ruth Mangerich and Rae Schmitt, brother Allen Harrison, three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be sent to: Hospice Brazos Valley, 502 W. 26th St., Bryan, TX 77803; The Theatre Company, 725 E. Villa Maria, Bryan, TX 77802; or First Presbyterian Church Music Program, 1100 Carter Creek Pkwy., Bryan, TX 77802.