Mark
Alan Nelson
August 26, 1959 - July 27, 2015MARK ALAN NELSON. Mark was born
in Parsons, Kansas, the son of Lloyd (Jerry) and Gerry Nelson. He moved
with the family in 1964 to Dallas, then a year after that to Farmers
Branch. So Mark grew up going to school in the Carrollton/Farmers Branch
School District, and later graduated from R. L. Turner High School in
1977. He attended Brookhaven Junior College for 2 years while working in
the family business – heating and air conditioning. Later, he worked as
an auto mechanic; later still he began installing equipment on
commercial trucks. Sadly, in the mid 90’s, he was diagnosed with lung
cancer, due to the welding gases. And unfortunately, this, combined with
the treatment, would weaken his immune system, eventually causing the
deterioration of his physical body.
Mark was the fifth child of eight children. He was preceded in death by
his father in 1993, his mother in 2000, and his brother,
Brad, in 2001. He is survived by his
other siblings: Mike, Becky, Craig,
Colleen, Arlene, and Jeff.
He enjoyed many things, such as bowling, Cowboys’ football, and
especially the outdoor life, including fishing (both freshwater and
saltwater), and camping and hunting. He enjoyed music, and taught
himself to play the guitar. He also enjoyed family and friends, and took
any opportunity he could to “practice” his comedy on them. Many likely
remember his one-liners and wit.
Later in life, he felt a real spiritual need. This had a small beginning
back in the 70’s, when he briefly studied the Bible with Dan Harding,
but made very little progress. However, around 2006, he again started
searching for the answers to some of life’s big questions, and this led
to studying the Bible again, this time with family friend, Charles
Williams. This gave him the answers he’d been looking for, along with
giving him a wonderful hope for the future, leading up to him dedicating
his life to Jehovah, and symbolizing that dedication by getting baptized
in November of 2009. This opened doors of opportunity for him to share
his faith with others, and take part in projects such as the building of
kingdom halls. His becoming part of this worldwide brotherhood gave him
a true meaning, as well as a satisfying purpose in life.
It’s hard to sum up someone’s life of more than 50 years in just a few
short paragraphs, but there is no doubt that Mark touched the lives of
many. Each one of us can hold onto our memories of him, and remember the
good times we had with him.
Mark’s memorial service will be 3:00 p.m., Saturday, August 15, 2015 at
the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witness, 3698 Rosemead Parkway, Dallas,
Texas 75287. |