The community mourns the passing of a true civic servant, a dedicated leader, a kind gentleman and a true mentor of others. Dr. William Nelson Jr. passed away on Aug. 22 at the age of 75.
“I like to think he was a landmark in this city,” said Alderman Charlie Jenkins, during Monday’s city council meeting. “He was the first dentist I went to, and I was mad at him because he stuck me with a needle. But I would like everybody to please stand and give Dr. Nelson a hand.”
The boardroom audience paid their respects to the late Dr. Nelson, a man whose shoes will truly be hard to fill.
Nelson was always eager to talk to others, a true conversationalist. And he certainly had the material to carry on long conversations. His family history was an instrumental part of Yazoo’s own history.
Many of those conversations would take place in his dental office, Yazoo City Dental Clinic, on the corner of Yazoo and Jefferson streets.
“I was born a half block down the hill on Yazoo Street,” he said, during a 2009 interview. “My great grandfather, Virgil Nelson, has a grocery store on this spot where my office is. In fact, where Yazoo City High School is right now, part of the land belonged to my great grandfather.”
Nelson’s passion for his family and its history runs deep. His great grandfather was the treasurer of the Penny Savings Bank, the African American bank in Yazoo City at the turn of the century. His mother was a registered nurse at the Afro-American Hospital. And his great grandfather helped build the original structure of St. Stephen United Methodist Church.
It was the work ethic of his family that led Nelson to embrace a strong business ethic in his own life.
“My mother was a registered nurse at the Afro-American Hospital in Yazoo City,” he said. “During my years growing up, I spent many hours there with her. I gained an appreciation as to what black doctors mean to the health of the people in our community.”
The medical field was certainly on Nelson’s radar, becoming a dentist in 1975.
Nelson was a 1967 graduate of St. Francis High School and a 1975 graduate of the Medical College of Virginia with a D.D.S. degree. He also attended Virginia State University after graduating from St. Francis High School.
Nelson also served as a captain in the United States Army and dentist from 1975-1978.
In December of 2005, Nelson was honored by Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and State Senator Joseph Thomas with a resolution of appreciation for his civic contributions. Among the many boards and organizations he played a vital role include:
Yazoo City Public Service Commission, board member and chairman
Rust College board member and chairman
St. Stephen United Methodist Church treasurer
Mississippi Dental Society Board of Trustees and past president
Board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Yazoo City
Adopter of Woolfolk Elementary School
Yazoo County Port Commission member
Board member of the American Sons and Daughters Hospital Foundation
Member of the Yazoo County Development District
Treasurer of the St. Francis Alumni Association
Avid supporter of the Oakes House Museum
Chairman of the Head Start Health Advisory Committee
“My wife complains about my busy schedule,” Nelson said, with a smile, during a previous interview.
Nelson was married to the former Gloria Haralson Holmes, of Benton. The couple enjoyed traveling in their spare time. Other hobbies of Nelson included watching sporting events.
With a face that always held a smile, a heart eager to love and a spirit ready to serve, Dr. Nelson will be extremely missed within the Yazoo community. And although he was always ready to talk about his family’s legacy, may we always remember the legacy he left as well.
“I told you I’m a talker,” he said, as a 2009 interview concluded. “I hope you got everything you needed.”
