Doris Hildergard Nelson

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: According to her obituary, "As a very young child, Mrs. Coolidge's parents separated, and she grew up in Worcester with her mother and grandmother on Balder Road in the heart of Worcester's Swedish district. Her grandmother had emigrated from Sweden, and Mrs. Coolidge was raised in a loving household full of Swedish language and culture. Her mother remarried and they moved to Petersham when she was age 7. She was adopted by her new father, John Carroll Nelson of Petersham whom she loved and called father the rest of her life. Mrs. Coolidge was graduated from Petersham High School with the Class of 1946. She was an excellent student and a gifted pianist. She was admitted to the New England Conservatory of Music in 1946 where she studied piano and counterpoint with Warren Storey Smith. She also worked in the school's administration office where she supported several faculty members and conductors including the late Arthur Fiedler. In 1948, Mrs. Coolidge married the late Horace O. Coolidge, Jr. also of Petersham. They lived in Concord where she worked at a local life insurance company while her husband completed his college studies at Northeastern University. In 1951, they moved to Carter Hill Farm in Petersham where they spent the next several years rebuilding the farm house and starting a family. Mrs. Coolidge went on to become a highly regarded teacher's aide in the Petersham Center School focusing on special needs children. She was an avid reader who never stopped learning. She was a strong, independent woman who enjoyed gardening, walking in the woods, and caring for her family and friends. Even after the death of her husband in 2010, she continued to live independently on her hilltop farm. Late in her life she learned that her biological father had remarried and that she had two half-sisters living nearby. One of her half-sisters found her and made the first connection. Her life was blessed to have had the love and friendship from her two half-sisters for the last decade of her life. Mrs. Coolidge was a devoted member of her church where she served on many committees throughout her entire life. As a young woman she was instrumental in developing a religious education program at the church. She was a trustee of the Petersham Memorial Library, and was very knowledgeable about both family and local history, serving as a member of the Beverly Historical Society and as a member and volunteer docent of the Petersham Historical Society."
• Census: 1940, Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts; She was recorded while living with her parents.; : 11
• Residence: 1996, Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts

Doris married Horace Ober Coolidge, Jr. on 17 Jul 1948 in Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Horace (son of Horace Ober Coolidge and Ruth Miranda Amsden) was born on 24 Jun 1924 in Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts; died on 16 Jan 2010 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts; was buried on 30 Jan 2010 in East Street Cemetery, Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. John Craig Coolidge was born on 13 Sep 1952 in Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts; died on 11 Aug 2003 in Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts; was buried on 17 Aug 2003 in East Street Cemetery, Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts.
2. Curtis Allen Coolidge
3. Susan Martha Coolidge was born on 1 Jun 1959 in Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts; died on 11 May 1976 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts; was buried in East Street Cemetery, Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Census: 1940, Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts; He was listed as the district representative for the electric light company.; : 42

John married Ebba H. Neyland on Yes, date unknown. Ebba was born about 1907 in Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Census: 1940, Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts; : 33