Thomas Hutson Nelson, 95, died at his home on August 16, 2026. He was born on April 25, 1931, to Bernard Stanley Nelson and Mary Lockett Hutson Nelson in New Orleans, Louisiana.
His boyhood years were often spent in Pearlington Miss., where he fell in love with the outdoors and a life filled with hunting and fishing on the Pearl River. A “Bayou Brother” early on, he could easily stand in a pirogue and paddle to his hearts content. The pursuit of waterfowl and fishing became an obsession. Duck hunting specifically became his lifelong passion as evidenced by hundreds of carved decoys and many duck boat / blind contraptions he built as an adult.
His parents were avid campers and sportsmen and they knew best to personally build a wonderful weekend home for their five children on the banks of the Pearl. His father, on a good hunt, would come back with a sack full of ducks. As an adult, his obsession for the duck hunt convinced his four children he must have been a duck in his first life.
He personally built a home on a peaceful cove of Lake Tawakoni. He spent his last 25 years living there and enjoying the peace and quiet.
After graduating from Newman High School in 1949, he attended Tulane University where he earned his medical degree in 1956. When he was married and enlisted as a Captain in the US Army, he moved to Hawaii where two of his children were born. There he built a wonderful sailboat that his best friend eventually abandoned in high seas. The boat was never found but the friend was okay.
He was a wonderful doctor, very smart and often consulted by his doctor peers for his ability as a brilliant diagnostician. He had an uncanny ability to be correct when it came to diseases.
He delivered over 2000 babies. His career at Family Medicine was one of his greatest accomplishments since helping people was what he did.
At retirement, he pursued his other passions. He could paint a canvas beautifully, carve a duck or shorebird magnificently, and use his wit brilliantly as manifest in his pen names: “Dr. Phil Good” or “Dr. Jerry Attrick” …. published for years in the Rains County Leader.
Mr. Nelson will be remembered by his good friends with the hush before dawn on a cold hunt, the serene patience of fishing, or his laughter echoing after a bad joke. Those who knew him understood that life’s deepest joys lay waiting in these quiet places, shared with both two-legged and four-legged friends.
He is survived by his children, Chris Nelson MD, Thomas Nelson (Gina), David Nelson MD (Amy), and Miriam “Mimi” Nelson; grandchildren, Adam Nelson, Allison Nelson Hudson (Peter), Molly Nelson Weatherly (Kyle), and Dylan Nelson (Lauren); great-grandchildren, Natalie Nelson, Micah Weatherly and Lilian Weatherly.