Rosie Mae Nelson

Rosie Mae Nelson was born February 16, 1930, in Ozan, Arkansas. Rosie was the third of four children born to C.D. and Emma Jane Walker. At an early age, she accepted Christ at Saint Peter CME Church in her hometown.

Rosie graduated from Lincoln High School in Washington, Arkansas in 1948. Not long after, at the age of 19, she left her small town with her parents’ permission to seek new opportunities in Chicago, Illinois—the Windy City. But Chicago’s cold winters didn’t sit well with her. Like many young adults, she called home and asked her mother for a ticket to the Sunshine State—Los Angeles, California. Her mother agreed, with one condition: if things didn’t work out, the next ticket would be a one-way trip back home.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Rosie joined Phillips Temple CME Church. Later, through some dear friends, she transferred her membership to Lewis Metropolitan CME Church, where she found her forever church home and family.

Rosie worked for many years as a live-in domestic worker, using her earnings to help her parents purchase a home of their own. Eventually, she transitioned into the hospitality industry and began working at the Beverly Comstock Hotel on Wilshire in Westwood. There, she encountered many celebrities, including stars from Motown and even Dean Martin. But the most memorable encounter was the day she met a quiet young bellhop named Charlie Lee Nelson—introduced by her sister Bettie. As Rosie often recalled with a smile, she was the one doing the flirting. It worked—because that quiet young man would become her soulmate. She even joked that the day she met Charlie was the last day she ever rode the bus.

After a few years of dating, Rosie and Charlie joined hands in marriage on January 28, 1967. Their union was blessed with a daughter, Hazel Jean Nelson, born on June 21, 1968—making them a family of three.

In 1976, with the help of her sister, Marie, Rosie began working with the Los Angeles Unified School District in the food service department at 96th Street Elementary School. Over the next 20 years, she formed lifelong bonds with her coworkers and touched the lives of countless children who passed through those lunch lines. In 1995, at the age of 65, Rosie retired from the school. Rosie enjoyed reading her Bible, playing slots and talking on the phone for hours and she embraced her golden years with grace and gratitude.

On April 16, 2025, the Lord gently whispered in her ear, “Well done, my child. Here are the keys to your heavenly mansion.” When she opened those doors, He greeted her with open arms and said, “Welcome home.”

She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Charlie L. Nelson, her oldest baby girl, Jackie M. Batups, stepdaughter, Pamela D. Rose, parents, CD and Emma J. Walker, one brother and his wife, George A. and Erma Walker, her older sister and her husband Hazle J. and RT Jordan, her baby sister, Bettie J. Bass, brothers-in-law, Earnest Nelson, Jr. and Calvin Moore, her nephew and his wife Levada and Doris Bass, nephew Leo Jordan, two great nephews, Shawn M. Hollis and Levada Bass, Jr.

She leaves to cherish her one daughter, Hazel J. Nelson of Los Angeles, CA; one sister, Marie Moore of Los Angeles, CA; sister-in-law, Ethel M. Nelson of Shreveport, LA; one granddaughter, Abrea M. Carreker of Atlanta, GA; two step grandchildren, Qunitina Rose and Victor L. Rose both of Dallas, TX; great-grandchildren, special niece, Rosie M. Jordan of Long Beach, CA, honorary granddaughter, Cheyenne M. Anthony of Los Angeles, CA, her beautiful nieces, nephews from both the Walker and Nelson families, her Lewis Metropolitan family, and a host of cherished cousins and friends.

Visitation
Friday, June 6, 2025
12:00PM – 5:00PM
Hicks Funeral Home
407 N. Hazel Street
Hope, AR 71801

Graveside
Saturday, June 7, 2025
11:00AM
St. Peter Cemetery
US 278 Hwy
Ozan, AR 71855