Tarry Lee Nelson

Tarry Lee Nelson (Wall), age 99, was called home to be with the Lord on July 5th, 2022. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Richard. They celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary at Atterdag Village of Solvang in 2017 just prior to his death. Tarry, also affectionately called Tee, TeeY, Lady and Gamo is survived by her two sons: Tarry; Brian(Marcia); Grands: Daniel(Kelly); Jeremy(Heather); Jennifer(Chris); Michael; Great-Grands: Riley; Noah; Jonathan; Karen. She was born in a farmhouse in Carpinteria with her twin Annie and put in shoe boxes next to the fire for warmth. She moved to a house built for their family in the then brand new Manning Park in Montecito where her father served as the first Park Manager at Manning Park which was only torn down in recent years. Before it was torn down, she and her lifelong soul mate and husband of 75 years showed the family the love notes carved into a drawer inside of her room. She attended Santa Barbara High School and shortly after their graduation she married the love of her life Richard Nelson – both 19 years old. He had signed up for the US Army. She caravanned with other wives behind their husbands around the USA for a year. Then he was deployed to Europe during WWII. They maintained daily letters between each other while he was overseas. The family has all of the letters catalogued in notebooks which are a treasure trove of WWII history. Upon returning home, they started a family and had two sons, Tarry and Brian. She was a faithful member of the service sorority Beta Sigma Phi for all of her young adult life. She worked in the clothing business and eventually ran the business side of her husband Richard Bliss Nelson Architect AIA’s business. While Dick and Tarry’s greatest shared passion was time with their extended family, their pastimes included cruising the oceans, and flying “Yellow Bird,” a Piper 235. They used their plane for pleasure and work and were active in the Channel City Airmen’s Club, and AOPA. She was an enthusiastic member of the Ninety-Nines, a Women’s Pilot Club. Tarry was known throughout the family for her personalized handcrafted red velvet Christmas stockings she created for each family member. Names were changed to new members of the family upon the death of an elder and the tree was kept about the history of each stocking legacy. She hand beaded each intricate decoration bead by bead. We each treasure her hand-crafted stockings. She kept scrapbooks for every year of their life and every adventurous trip or cruise, and we have each scrapbook with all of the history documented for all future family. They lived in Santa Barbara and Palm Desert and spent their final years at Atterdag Village in Solvang. She will be buried next to her lifelong soul mate and husband Richard and reunited with her twin Annie Wheeler and all others that preceded her in death. Known for her beautiful smile and snazzy fashion and sense of humor she will be sorely missed. A graveside service will take place at 1:30p.m. on Friday, July 22nd, at the Santa Barbara Cemetery. Special thanks are extended to the staff of Atterdag Village in Solvang for their many years of amazing love and excellent care for our beloved Mom. In lieu of flowers a donation to the Women’s Flying Club, The Ninety-Nines (a 501c3 organization) in her name (Tarry Lee Nelson) would be a beautiful tribute. www.ninety-nines.org. You can reach the family through brian@rbnarchitect.com

Tarry Lee Nelson

April 21, 1923 - July 5, 2022