Nola Ann Hughes Nelick's Obituary
Nola Ann Hughes Nelick was born on April 6, 1954, in Williamsburg, Virginia, and raised by parents Geraldine and Ed Hughes. Nola crossed over into eternal life on Thursday, November 28, 2024, in Memphis, Tennessee at St. Francis Hospital. She is survived by daughter Elena Nelick Carvalho, granddaughter, Natasha Carvalho; lifelong friend and companion, Tim Nelick; sisters Amanda Hughes and Edye Hughes Urdahl, nieces Rachel Davis, Amy Feild and Angie Shy; cousins Jeffrey Miller, Barbara Mason, Tommy Miller and aunt Charlene Dow.
Nola’s profession was a registered nurse which suited her innate caring nature for others and her commitment to the wellbeing of her patients. In the latter part of her career, she branched into home health care and tirelessly served patients in their homes throughout the Memphis area.
After growing up and graduating from High School in McCrory, Arkansas, Nola’s life journey took her to Galveston Texas, where she met and married Tim Nelick in 1988. While in Galveston she studied and received her nursing degree at Galveston College in 1991. Daughter Elena was born in 1994 and was welcomed into the lives of loving parents Nola and Tim. The family moved to Memphis in 1998 where Elena was raised, and Nola continued her nursing profession.
An avid lover of animals, Nola was especially kind to stray cats and dogs and cared for many throughout her life. Although Nola was of modest means, she was a generous donor to charities dedicated to helping less fortunate people and to the care of needy animals.
In her everlasting life, Nola was and is a free and independent spirit, while fostering concern and empathy for the lives of people and animals in the world around her, and concern for the environmental health of the world itself. She loved to immerse herself in music, art, dance, and politics.
All are welcome to remember Nola at the service at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday December 11, 2024, at Memorial Park Funeral Home in the Parkside Event Center, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, where she will be interred with her mother and other family members.
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