Obituary of Patricia E. Nelson

Patricia Eagen Nelson passed away at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut on June 11, 2020 due to congestive heart failure.  She was 88 years old.

Born on November 3, 1931 in Poughkeepsie, New York she was the daughter of Raphael and Helen Hasbrouck Eagen.  She attended Arlington High School in Poughkeepsie, New York where she graduated at the top of her class in 1950 and held class officer positions including class President.  Patricia was voted most intelligent and most likely to succeed in High School.  In addition to excelling academically, she was a superb athlete.  She earned 4 Year Sports Awards in Basketball, Soccer, Softball, and Volleyball and was captain of many of her teams.

Patricia met the love of her life John Daniel Nelson in 1946 at age 15 when he admired her straight A report card at the end of the school year.  On their first date to get an ice cream cone, John predicted he would marry her.  They married on October 21, 1951 and celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a marriage based on mutual respect and unwavering love and commitment.

She continued her education graduating from Krissler Business Institute and then began her career at IBM Corporation in Poughkeepsie, New York in Procurement. With the birth of her two children, Patricia left the corporate world to raise her family. She was an exceptional mother devoted to her family giving them her unconditional love, her steadfast support and sharing her wisdom and deep faith.  Patricia cherished her role as grandmother and adored her two grandsons with joy and pride that knew no bounds. 

When her children became older, Patricia pursued her passion for learning and went back to school earning an Associate Degree with a 4.0 grade point average from Dutchess Community College.  She then transferred full time to Vassar College earning a BA in History with general and departmental honors in 1976.  Her Senior History Thesis on “Wappingers Falls, New York in 1880” was a ground breaking historical analysis based on original Census source data and focused on social patterns from statistical data.  At age 55, she received an unsolicited call from Arlington High School offering her a position in the Reference Library aiding the students in research which she did for a decade and then retired in 1996. 

Patricia’s legacy is her loving son John D. Nelson, Jr. and his wife Elaine of Cary, North Carolina, her beloved grandsons John D. Nelson III of Washington DC and Brian A. Nelson of Herndon, Virginia and her devoted daughter Kathleen Nelson Preli and her husband John J. Preli of Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Patricia was a communicant of Holy Trinity Church in Poughkeepsie, New York for more than 60 years prior to her moving in 2015 to Ridgefield CT to be closer to her daughter who oversaw her care.

She was predeceased by her parents, her husband John Daniel Nelson on February 21, 2012, her sisters Joyce Eagen McElmeel and Jacqueline Eagen Tompkins, and her brother Raymond T. Eagen.  She is survived by her sister Nancy Eagen Holbrook and her brothers Donald N. Eagen and John Terrence Eagen.  She is also survived by several nieces and nephews.  The family expresses special thanks to her caregivers whose kind and exceptional support allowed her to remain at home.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday June 20th at 11:00 AM at Holy Trinity Church 775 Main Street Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 with interment at St. Peter’s Cemetery 171 Salt Point Turnpike Poughkeepsie, New York 12603.  Calling hours will be from 9:30 – 10:30 AM at Timothy Doyle Funeral Home 371 Hooker Avenue Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 on Saturday June 20th prior to the Mass.