Julia B. Nelson

A Century of Love and Compassion, "Sugar Pie" Julia Boykin Nelson Takes Her Rest!
Julia "Sugar Pie" Boykin Nelson was welcomed to her celestial home on July 4, 2020 by her parents, Horace and Evelina Boykin; her husband, George "Hood" Nelson; her daughter, Francine Nelson Cooke; her son, George "Butch" Nelson, Jr.; and her brothers, Henry Boykin, Jeff Boykin, Sr., Levy Boykin, Frank Boykin, a sister, Josephine Cox, and a stepdaughter, Molly Jones Haynesworth.
"Sugar Pie," to some and "Sweetie Pie," to others, was born on November 9, 1919 to Horace and Evelina Boykin, the beautiful baby girl as the last of five children behind her siblings, Henry, Jeff, Levy, and Frank Boykin and Josephine Cox. She departed her home, surrounded by the love of her family on July 4, 2020. She had an indelible spirit that persisted for over an entire century. She was strong and courageous, but after 100 years of living, loving and being, her body grew faint and her soul longed to be with her Savior, so she gently slipped away. Her life was one of great love, fulfillment and generosity.
She attended St. Matthews Elementary School and later, the Browning Home, Boylan Haven Mather Academy. In elementary school, Sugar Pie was an exemplary speller and voracious reader. She loved English and until almost the day she passed, could still recite Sam Walter Foss', "The House By The Side of The Road." She sang on the choir and was a stellar basketball player. Her father was so adoring that he never let her walk to school. Each morning he would hitch up the buggy and drive her up Campbell Street to Boylan Haven Mather Academy and would be there to pick her up each afternoon.
Julia met and married George "Hood" Nelson, Sr., the love of her life, at the age of 17. Hood gave her the nickname, "Sugar Pie," however, because she spent a great deal of her time helping working mothers rear their children, the second generation of young ones began to call her "Sweetie Pie."
Julia loved flowers and was an ardent gardener. Every week she laced her dining room table with flowers and her children adored her and tried to give her roses while she was yet alive. She was such a giving person who shared whatever she had with everyone in need.
She was a homemaker for most of her life but when all of her children were old enough to attend grade school, she went to work for the Kershaw County School System in Food Services and retired. She worked for the betterment of her community and was a caretaker for her brothers, as well, when they became ill. It was during and after this time that her home became a haven for neighborhood children.
Sugar Pie was "glad when they said, Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" She loved God with her whole heart and was a great woman of faith. She gave her life to Christ at an early age and worked diligently in all areas of ministry over the decades at Wesley Chapel UMC and then, Good Hope Wesley Chapel UMC, until her health failed.
To mourn her beautiful life, she leaves four children - Ida Nelson (Leroy) Bracey of North Brunswick NJ; Cora Nelson (Richard) Thompson of Piscataway NJ; Marie Nelson Butler of Camden SC; and Lynette Nelson (Willie) Miles of Lugoff SC; three with her in heaven - Francine Nelson Cooke; George "Butch" Nelson, Jr., and her stepdaughter, Mollye Jones Haynesworth. She also leaves behind 14 beloved Grands; two special godchildren, Dionne Thomas and Thomas Bracey; and 16 darling great-grands; nieces, nephews, cousins and friends whom she loved dearly.
Our darling "Sugar Pie" will be sorely missed. She was a kind and gentle spirit, an angel of mercy, filled with grace and love for all who came within her midst. She never complained and was always grateful for the simple things in life. She was a rare treasure for an entire century and blessed this family with so much love, but her body grew tired and God reached down and lifted her to His bosom on her precious husband's birthday. She is joined by a host of family and friends. She is at peace now and the heavens must have rejoiced at her coming! Hallelujah! Another Angel has received her wings!