Kathryn Wolff Nelson

Kathryn Wolff Nelson age 93 passed away Saturday, March 24, 2018 at her home. She is survived by her husband of 73 years Dr. Henry Sperry Nelson; children: Dr. Henry Sperry Nelson, Jr. (Nancy) of Knoxville, TN, States Lee Nelson (Roxy) of Fort Worth, TX, Kathryn Nelson Manier of Nashville, TN, Elizabeth “Bizza” Nelson Britton (Ed) of Baton Rouge, LA, and Faye Nelson Maynard (Bill) of Nashville, TN; eleven grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. Her vivacious spirit, inquisitive mind, and loving service will be dearly missed by her family and friends. Kathryn “Katie” was born in the Moravian community of Bethania, NC in 1924 to A.D. “Punk” and Eula Wolff. She attended Salem College and was Founders Medalist of her Vanderbilt Nursing class in 1946. She later went on to earn a MSN at Vanderbilt Nursing School in 1963 and a PhD in International Education and Social Anthropology from Peabody College in 1968. While in nursing school she met Henry S. Nelson of Nashville, TN and they married in January 1945. They served 40 years as career medical missionaries with the Presbyterian (PCUSA) Mission Board in China and Democratic Republic of Congo. Katie was a lifelong learner and educator, teaching nursing on three continents and in four languages with students from nursing aides to graduate students. She was the last missionary director of the I.M.C.K. nursing school in Congo. Her students today are directors of at least three nursing schools in Congo and one in Beijing. She was a lover of diverse cultures and taught anthropology and sociology at Maryville College in the 1970’s and graduate nursing at University of Tennessee in Knoxville the 1980’s. In Katie’s retirement, she could be found hiking. She completed the Appalachian Trail at age 74, the Mountains to the Sea Trail in her home state of NC at age 76, and the Pinhoti Trail in Georgia and Alabama. She was a member of the 900 Miler Club, completing all the trails in the Smokey Mountain National Park. In Africa, she hiked the three tallest mountains: Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and Ruwenzori Mountains. Despite her short stature, she ran circles around us all. Memorials can be given to the I.M.C.K. Foundation to further the Christian medical work in Congo: go to https://mbfoundation.org/friends-imck-endowment-fund/ A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM, April 7, 2018 at New Providence Presbyterian Church with Rev. Steve Musik officiating. Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, Maryville, 865-983-1000, www.SmithFuneralandCremation.com. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Kathryn Wolff Nelson please visit our Sympathy Store.