Winifred Donnellan Nelson

Winifred Donnellan Nelson, 95, of Attleboro, peacefully passed away on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at the Maples Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wrentham, MA. She was the loving wife of the late Robert William Nelson, to whom she was married for fifty-seven years.Born on May 31, 1921 in Emporia, KS, she was the daughter of the late Joseph J. Donnellan, Sr. and the late Grace (Ingram) Donnellan.Mrs. Nelson was a graduate of Emporia (KS) High School and Emporia State Teachers College, where she was a member of the Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority. She attended the University of Maine (Orono), where she did graduate work in education administration.She proudly and honorably served our country during World War II as a Specialist 3G in the United States Navy Reserves (WAVES) from 1944-1946, and where she taught aerial gunnery to pilots. After the war, Mrs. Nelson and her husband settled in Attleboro, MA, where she taught at the Little Folks Nursery School. She then stayed at home to raise her four children until 1968, at which time she became a Probation Officer in the Fourth District Courthouse in Attleboro, retiring after several years there. A resident of Attleboro from 2003 until 2016, she previously lived in Long Beach, CA. Mrs. Nelson was a communicant of Holy Ghost Church in Attleboro, where she was a Eucharistic minister and taught CCD classes, and had previously been a communicant at St. Mary's Church in Long Beach, CA. An active and vibrant woman, Mrs. Nelson was for more than forty years a charter member of the Theta Beta Chapter of the Alpha Phi Gamma International Sorority, Inc. in Attleboro; a Past President of both the American Association of University Women, Long Beach Branch (CA) and the Attleboro Branch, where she was a charter member; a member and Past Chairperson of the Attleboro School Committee, serving from 1964-1975; a member and supporter of the Long Beach Symphony Guild; the founder of Attleboro's Head Start Program; and had been honored as "Woman of the Year" by the local association of Business and Professional Women. She was active in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization in Attleboro, having served as a member of the Board of Directors; and had been a member of the Highland Country Club. She was the beloved mother of Kristina (Nelson) Occhino and her husband, C. Guy Occhino, of Attleboro, MA; Stephen R. Nelson and his late wife, Phyllis A. (Brunnell) Nelson, of North Attleboro, MA; Nina Nelson-Fuqua and her husband, Wayne Fuqua, of Kalamazoo, MI; and Peter D. Nelson of Trossingen, Germany. She leaves seven cherished grandchildren: Ashley A. Occhino and her companion, Travis Fauvelle, of Taunton, MA; Sarah R. Occhino of Millis, MA; Melissa J. Nelson and her husband, Paul Alcorn, of Norcross, GA; Philip M. Nelson of Quincy, MA; Hannah R. Nelson of Brookhaven, GA; Eric Fuqua of Lansing, MI; and Mackenzie Fuqua of Burlington, VT; and leaves several nieces and nephews.She was the sister of the late Quentin Donnellan, the late Robert I. Donnellan, the late Joseph J. Donnellan, Jr., and the late Patrick Donnellan.Friends and family are cordially invited to attend a Visitation with Veteran's Honors on Monday, November 28, 2016 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. in the "Memorial Chapel" of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home - the national historic Colonel Obed Robinson Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, ¾ mile on the left) Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA.Children's room is available during visitation.Those in need of a local ride to the visitation may call the funeral home at (508) 695-0200 to make an advance reservation for such complimentary transportation. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church, 133 North Main Street, Attleboro, MA. An invitation is extended by her family to attend a collation in the St. John Hospitality Center immediately following Mass.Private burial with Full Military Honors will take place at a later date in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne, MA, at which time Mrs. Nelson will be laid to rest alongside her late husband.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Attleboro Scholarship Foundation, in Memory of Winifred D. Nelson, at 89 North Main Street, Attleboro, MA 02703.For additional information or to send the family a written expression of sympathy, please visit an online guest book at www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com . Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. (508) 695-0200