Eda N. Buzbee

Mabel Eda Nelson Buzbee died on Monday, June 23, 2008, in Austin, Texas. Eda was born in Houston, Texas, on December 12, 1910, to Gerda Hokanson Nelson and Martin Emil Nelson, Swedish immigrants. Her father, who was a ship's captain and worked in the dredging industry, moved the family to many coastal and river towns in Texas and Louisiana. During the Depression the family lived in Galveston while Mr. Nelson worked in Mexico. Eda graduated from Ball High School in Galveston, and received her nursing degree in 1931 from the University of Texas at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston. She furthered her education in Public Health Nursing at Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Eda met her future husband, Herman Ray Buzbee, in Austin in 1936. Ray proposed to Eda at the Littlefield Fountain on the UT campus using a cigar band for an engagement ring. They eloped and were married at the Ardmore, Oklahoma courthouse on Christmas Eve in 1939. While Ray was serving as a flight surgeon in the Pacific during World War II, Eda became head nurse and supervisor of nursing at John Sealy Hospital. After the War, Eda worked for the Department of Health at Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, Dallas, and Galveston. Eda and Ray were proud of their two children, Herman Ray Buzbee, Jr. and Drusilla Elaine Buzbee Knowles. The family moved to Ray's hometown, Abilene, where he practiced obstetrics and gynecology. In Abilene, Eda was very involved with the Altar Guild at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, the Church's Thrift Shop and prayer group, The Abilene Women's Club, and her children's activities. She was past president of the Taylor, Jones, and Haskell Counties' Medical Auxiliary. Eda enjoyed sewing and gardening. She was involved with helping the public school nurses and the Presbyterian Mission Clinic. Eda moved to Austin in 1991 to be closer to her son and his family. Eda is preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, John Nelson and Evalyn Mitchell, her husband, and her two children. Mama Bee, as she was lovingly called, is survived by her grandchildren, Courtney Buzbee Morehead, Brandon Nelson Buzbee, William Stevenson Knowles, Jr., Brian Hughes Knowles; her great-grandson, Coleman Kline Morehead; her daughter-in-law, Susan Coleman Buzbee; and several nieces and nephews. A graveside service will be held at Elmwood Memorial Park at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, 2008, followed by a celebration of Eda's life at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Episcopal, at 2:00 p.m., directed by The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road, Abilene, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Herman Ray Buzbee, Jr. Scholarship at the Community Foundation of Abilene, P.O. Box 1001, Abilene, TX 79604, the Altar Guild of the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander, Abilene, TX 79602, or a charity of one's choice.