Gloria Nelson, a resident of Calvary Homes in Lancaster, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Friday, January 6, 2023. Born in Oxford, Pennsylvania, Gloria was the oldest child of Claude and Ellen Shepherd.

She graduated from Oxford Area High School in 1955, and attended Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. After graduation, she taught in Glendale, Arizona. She married Paul Nelson and they settled in the northwest suburban area of Chicago, where she taught in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Later, she earned a Master's degree in special education from Northern Illinois University and taught in Wheeling, Illinois until her retirement in 1999. After retirement they moved to Bel Air, Maryland, where she was a substitute teacher in Harford County until they moved to Lancaster in 2007.

She was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lancaster and The Women's Garden Club of Lancaster. She was an active volunteer at Calvary Homes.

She is survived by her husband, Paul and two children: Bryan P. Nelson of Schaumburg, Illinois and Valerie Benzing (Christopher) of Baltimore, Maryland; two grandsons: Paul James Benzing and Scott Benzing; a sister Isabelle Dodd of Vancouver, British Columbia and a brother Robert Shepherd (Julie) of Millersville, Pennsylvania.

Memorial gifts are requested to go to Calvary Fellowship Homes Benevolent Fund, 502 Elizabeth Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601.