Jimmie L Nelson, longtime Baptist pastor and seminary professor, died May 14. He was 97. He was born Feb. 11, 1928, in Wichita Falls to Izetta Mansfield and was adopted by Wallace and Nettie Nelson. He spent most of his childhood in Borger, where he graduated from high school and where he worked in the oil fields through his college years. He graduated from Borger High School in 1945 and from Baylor University in 1949. As a high school senior, he was called to the gospel ministry and enrolled at Baylor University. During college, he met Dolores Lee Cate, also from Borger, one weekend when he was visiting back home. They married June 25, 1950. During his time at Baylor, he served Lovelace Baptist Church in Hillsboro as pastor. After completing his undergraduate degree from Baylor in 1949, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1952 and a Doctor of Theology degree in 1961. He was pastor at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Colonial Hill Baptist Church in Snyder and First Baptist Church in Deer Park. Returning to Southwestern Seminary, he served as the director of field education in the School of Theology, was associate dean for the Doctor of Ministry program, and was professor of preaching 27 years. He also continued to serve as interim pastor at various churches through his lifetime. During his time at the seminary, he served three year-long sabbatical stints as a pastor of European Baptist churches in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. He also taught and preached in Japan, Trinidad, Brazil, the Ivory Coast and Romania. He also served as an adjunct professor at the Canadian Baptist Seminary in Calgary several semesters. The Nelsons were longtime members of First Baptist Church in Burleson, and he served the church as interim pastor twice. For many years, he led a men’s Bible study at the Petroleum Club in Fort Worth. He also loved his seminary friends who were part of a 42 club who met regularly to play dominoes and enjoy each other’s company. In his last years in Burleson, he became a part of a breakfast club that met every Monday morning in a local café. In 2022, he moved into a senior living community in Lubbock to be near his daughter and her family. In Lubbock, he continued to be involved with the local pastors group as well as First Baptist Church of Lubbock. When he was 91, he rode the zipline at Palo Duro Canyon, just so he could keep pace with his friend Bernie Wilson, originally of Snyder. He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Delores. He is survived by son Stephen Nelson and his wife Robin of Paonia, Colo.; son J. Alan Nelson and his wife Susan of Waco; daughter Julie Cate Nelson Couch and her husband Robert of Lubbock; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on June 1 at the Mountain Valley Funeral Home in Joshua. A funeral service is scheduled at 10 a.m. June 2 at First Baptist Church in Burleson.
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