Obituary of Sr. Nelson

Funeral services for Mr. Arthur L. "Art" Nelson, Sr., age 81, are scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, October 15, 2011 at Columbia Heights Baptist Church, Columbia, LA with Rev. James Prince and Rev. John Holdiness officiating. Interment will follow in Columbia Hill Cemetery, Columbia, LA. Visitation will be held Friday from 5-8 p.m. at Golden Funeral Home, Bastrop, LA, and from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday at Columbia Heights Baptist Church. Mr. Nelson, a resident of Columbia, formerly of Bastrop, passed away Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at St. Francis Medical Center. He was a retired employee of International Paper Company, a member of Columbia Heights Baptist Church, and an avid hunter and fisherman. He was a 32nd degree Mason and a member of Mt. Gerzim Masonic Lodge #54. Mr. Nelson was a veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force having served in World War II and the Korean War. Mr. Nelson is preceded in death by wife, Mary L. Nelson; brother, Butch Nelson; and grandson, Johnathan Nelson. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Russell Nelson of Columbia, LA; daughter, Debbie Nelson Williams and husband Harold of Coushatta, LA; three sons, Arthur L. Nelson, Jr. of Columbia, LA, Tony Nelson and wife Sarah of Bastrop, LA, Tim Nelson and wife Linda of Burkeville, TX; step-children, Russell Posey of Columbia, LA, Lisa Cash and husband Cecil of Springtown, TX, Catherine Blackwell and husband Don of Spring Town, TX; step-mother, Lydia Boyd of Bastrop, LA; sister, Diane Graves and husband John of Bastrop, LA; two brothers, Mike Nelson and wife Liz of Bastrop, LA, Ronnie Nelson and wife Velma of Columbia, LA; seven grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; seven step-grandchildren and seven step-great grandchildren. Serving as pallbearers will be Sheldon Smith, Rick Duckett, James Buchanan, Vernon McMillon, Kenny Anderson, Carl Dunn. Honorary pallbearers are Mike Cook, Gaylon Head, and Will Hoof.