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FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Jean Sullivan Nelson of Fairfield died Wednesday, Jan. 9, surrounded by family. She was 81.
Nelson was a former first grade teacher at Kendall School in Norwalk for 12 years.
Born Aug. 27, 1931, in Newton, Mass., she graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art, where she met her husband of 60 years, Robert J. Nelson. After settling in Fairfield in 1960, Nelson was active in the Fairfield Teen Theater and Mother's Circle.
She served as a director of the South End Children's Center in Bridgeport in the 1970s and later taught in the infant program at Saugatuck Day Care in Westport. She was passionate about teaching, politics, books and especially movies, her family said.
During their respective illnesses, Nelson acted as caretaker for her mother, aunt and sister. She attended Broadway plays and traveled to Ireland, Hawaii, the American West and Aruba with her husband. She also belonged to the Gaelic Club in Fairfield.
Nelson is survived by her husband, Bob Nelson; three daughters, Joellen Lawson, of Newtown, Conn., Rosanne Nelson, of Fairfield, and Tina Bengermino, of Fairfield; two sons, Jonathan Nelson, of Simsbury, Conn., and Robert Nelson, of Branford, Conn.; six grandchildren; a great-grandson; three nieces and a nephew.
Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Spear-Miller Funeral Home in Fairfield. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Fairfield. Burial will follow at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
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