Ellen Kate Cox “Momma” “Tweet” Nelson was born in Anthony, New Mexico, on August 7, 1930. She passed away at age 88 on March 16, 2019. Before she was 36 she had lived many places, but in 1967 she and her beloved husband, Dr. William Joseph “Joe” Nelson, moved to their home in El Paso where she lived 52 years.
Although they no longer moved, they traveled extensively. Momma especially liked to be on a cruise ship with nothing to see all around but water. Married in 1951, Joe passed away in 2011 so they were married almost 60 years.
Ellen was an accomplished seamstress, paper and needlework artist, and writer. She discovered sewing at age 13 and it remained her lifelong favorite thing to do. Her family and friends reaped the benefits, whether it be a custom-made skirt or the addition of pockets to a store-bought dress, and she loved passing the skill on to a new generation.
She always had a craft project going – at times it was needlepoint or rug-making, other times she sewed cuddly cloth dolls and enjoyed creating an expressive face and fun hair. She upholstered furniture and the seats inside her husband’s airplanes. Most recently she focused on origami.
Three of her granddaughters used her origami creations of flowers, birds and stars in their weddings as bouquets, decorations or hair ornaments. She couldn’t resist folding a jumping frog when she encountered a small rectangle of paper. Her fellow church members at First Presbyterian of El Paso enjoyed clever origami centerpieces for events and huge descending doves made of heavy paper.
Writing was a favorite activity that began with a memoirs class at UTEP. Since then she has explored her life and shared it with her family through her writings. She even got her brothers to add their memories.
The memoirs class became a regular gathering of fellow writers and she so looked forward to “Writers! ” She also enjoyed corresponding with friends, family and people she admired, including authors and an origami artist. She often wrote on a folded bird card or cut out butterfly.
Church activities and PEO Sisterhood Chapter N gave her more dear friends who were so important to her life. Ellen and Joe set a wonderful example for their daughters in that they made lifelong friends. Their Christmas card list included names from around the world.
Ellen Kate managed to grow up in spite of her two very inquisitive outdoorsmen brothers, William Homer Cox and George Bartlett Cox, both of whom she adored. Her father, William Homer Cox, taught school in Anthony before he took a position with AMNICO Insurance and they moved to Paris, Texas, and then Commerce, Texas. He died in an accident in December, 1940, when Tweet was only 10.
Her mother, Zelma Aleta Bartlett Cox, had to assume support of the family just as WWII began, all of which changed their lives drastically. The family moved between Commerce and Edgewood so that Zelma could teach school, and Momma remembered her years in Edgewood fondly. Tweet was caught in the period when Texas was changing the number of grades in school.
One school district had only 11 grades while the next had 12. She graduated from Commerce High School at age 16 and then went on to East Texas State Teachers’ College where she played French horn in the marching band. At age 15 she met Joe at First Presbyterian Church in Commerce and quickly knew this curly haired, confident newcomer from Pecos, Texas, would be “The One”.
Ellen leaves behind three daughters and their families: Mary & Raymond “Rick” Peters of Keller, Texas; Ellen & Brian Clarke of White Stone, Virginia; Nan & Brian Wagner of Portland, Oregon. Her grandchildren are Frederic “Joe” Peters and David & Alisa Peters; Skyler Johnson-Wagner and Grace Ellen Wagner; and the Clarkes: Brandon & Hermione Clarke, Jena & Kyle Kuznik, Lauren & Parker Stratton, Brianna & Sebastian Schwelm, and Nelson Clarke. Great grandchildren are Ellen Clarke, Annabel Peters and Vivian Kuznik.
“Bonus daughter” and grands are Dacia Panich, Katie Panich, and Beth & Luke Westby. She is also survived by her brothers Bill Cox & his wife Ann, and George Cox & his wife Beverly. Ellen leaves many nieces and nephews including Vicki & Rod Pfeifer of El Paso.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Ellen’s honor would be appreciated by the charity of your choice or First Presbyterian, 1340 Murchison, El Paso. A memorial service will be held at the church on Saturday, April 13, at 10:30am. Her online registry is at www.
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