Lucile Helene Nelson's Obituary
Lucile Helene Nelson passed away on Tuesday evening, January 27, 2009, at Baptist Hospital in Miami, Florida, as a result of stroke. Lucile, a French citizen, was born (along with her twin sister, Isabelle Suzanne) on July 22, 1952 in Viljoenskroon, South Africa, to Jean Giovannoni and Henriette Giovannoni (nee Morvan). Jean Giovannoni was in this remote town pursuant to his career as a civil engineer for French construction companies. Messr. Giovannoni, also a French citizen born on the island of Corsica, was a French Army artillery officer in World War II, and was named a member of the French Legion of Honor for saving the life of his commanding officer under fire. Henriette Morvan was born in Yugoslavia, but also of French parents, and so Lucile was very French. Lucile and her sister were supposed to be born in a hospital in Johannesburg, but labor came quickly and unexpectedly, so they were born with a midwife in attendance “in the bush”. They were premature and incubated in a cardboard box with hot water bottles. The sisters sometimes referred to themselves as “bush babies”.
Lucile traveled extensively with her family throughout her childhood, as a consequence of her father’s international career in construction. With brief stints in France between assignments, Lucile’s father’s career took her to Auckland, New Zealand, Lima, Peru and finally, when her father’s moves were to become very frequent, to boarding school on the Isle of Wight in England. Lucile and her twin sister would spend their Christmas and Easter holidays in Paris with their maternal grandparents and an aunt, and summer holidays with their parents wherever they happened to be located at the time. The sisters completed their education at a college of international trade called the French Institute in London, England.
In 1969, Lucile and her sister visited the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where their father was working on yet another project. In the summer of 1970, Lucile was introduced to her future husband, Larry Elmer Nelson, who was a junior loan officer at the Chase Manhattan Bank on St. Croix. After Lucile and her family left St. Croix in early 1972, Larry pursued her for two years before she finally agreed to marry him. During this time, Lucile worked for a time as a representative of Orlane beauty products in the principality of Andorra, located in the mountains between France and Spain. Lucile and Larry were married in Paris in 1974. Larry’s career with Chase Manhattan took them to the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and ultimately back to St. Croix. During these years, Lucile gave birth to her two daughters, Lysandra on July 11, 1977, and Laetitia on February 25, 1981. She and her husband enjoyed an active social life with the many nationalities represented in the Caribbean.
Larry’s career returned them to New York briefly in 1978, and then they moved to Chicago when Larry accepted a job with another bank. Finally, they returned to Miami in the late 1980’s where, tragically, Larry died of complications from heart surgery in 1995 at the age of 52. Lucile was about a year short of completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing when Larry died. With great courage and determination, she completed her degree and entered the nursing profession, working at Kendall Regional Medical Center in the outpatient procedure department. Sadly, failing health due to a congenital heart defect cut her career short in 2003 and by 2004, she could no longer work and was permanently disabled. Tragedy struck again in 2005 when her eldest daughter, Lysandra, died unexpectedly, also of an apparent congenital heart defect.
Lucile is survived by her mother, Henriette Giovannoni, 77, who lives in France just outside Paris, her younger daughter Laetitia, her twin sister Isabelle, who resides in Orlando, Florida, her father-in-law Elmer Nelson, and her brother-in-law Dale Nelson, who is Larry’s younger brother. Both Nelsons live in Minnesota.
While often touched by misfortune and tragedy, especially in her later years, Lucile was an outstanding student at all stages of her academic career, a gracious hostess, and a very capable and compassionate nurse. She traveled the world extensively and loved dancing, fine cuisine, and beautiful things. She was very devoted to her husband Larry in their 21 years of marriage.
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