William "Bill" Wayne Nelson January 26, 1938 – November 18, 2022 (age 84) William "Bill" Wayne Nelson was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on January 26, 1938, to Eleanor Mae Hollis and Ben Wayne Nelson. He passed away on November 18, 2022, in Houston, Texas, surrounded by his wife and children after a very brief and valiant battle with cancer.

Bill was the valedictorian of his high school class, a multi-sport varsity athlete and an award-winning public speaker. He attended the University of Oklahoma (OU) where he graduated with majors in History, Literature and Philosophy. He was an active member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and a lifelong Sooner. Bill then received his law degree from OU while participating in the Army ROTC and had the honor of serving on the Oklahoma Law Review. On the day he graduated from law school, he received his commission to the United States Army where he entered the Judge Advocate Generals Corp (JAGC). While in the Army, he attained his Master of Laws (LLM) from the George Washington School of Law in Washington, D.C.

While a student in law school, Bill had the good fortune of meeting "the prettiest girl in the dorm" Lucy "Mickey" Caperton. Bill and Mickey were married March 29, 1963, in Waco, Texas. After graduation, they moved to Virginia for the first of many stops on their almost sixty-year journey that took them to Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and finally back to Texas. Along the way, they were blessed with their four children, David, Andrew, Christina, and Elizabeth.

Bill had a long and successful career as a corporate attorney, primarily in the oil and gas industry. After positions with Exxon and Marathon, Bill retired in 1998 from Shell Oil in Houston, Texas. Bill was the consummate lawyer. He was honest, meticulous, fair and respected by his peers and all who knew him.

During retirement, Bill and Mickey enjoyed traveling internationally, including three special trips to the Holy Land, stops in all 50 states and visits to six continents. Bill and Mickey have always enjoyed their time with family and friends, daily walks, coffee breaks and studying the Bible. Bill is considered a Biblical scholar and has an extensive Bible collection that he has chronicled in a thorough book he wrote about his collection. Bill and Mickey have enjoyed serving The Woodlands Methodist Church for over 20 years.

Bill is survived by his wife Mickey, his sister, Jane Stout, his children Dave and wife Melinda, Andy and wife Anne, Christi and husband Bill and Elizabeth and husband Michael, nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

The Nelson family would like to thank Dr. Paul Kenworthy, Dr. Jonathan Cheng and Dr. Jonathan Lu in the Woodlands, Texas for their coordinated efforts and friendship in caring for Bill. The family would also like to thank Dr. Lance Blau, Dr. Sid Ganguly, Dr. Sai Pingali and the entire 14th floor Oncology team at Houston Methodist Hospital for their kindness and loving care.

A private memorial service will be held for family at Houston National Cemetery at a later date.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Missions Fund at The Woodlands Methodist Church at 2200 Lake Woodlands Drive, The Woodlands, Texas 77380, or by going to www.thewoodlandsumc.org/give-now.