Martin Ferdinand Nellius, Jr. 88 of Beaumont, Texas, passed away January 15, 2008 at home after a lengthy battle with heart trouble. He is survived by his wife, Betty Marks Nellius; son, Martin F. Nellius III and his wife, Nancy, of Houston; daughter, Nancy Stine and her husband, Bob, of Georgetown, Texas; grand-daughters, Stephanie Mitchell, her husband, Jay and children of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Amy Bruster, her husband, Anthony and children of Texarkana; Merrick Posey, her husband, Jake and children of Georgetown, Texas; sister, Lucy Jane Voss, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, her children, Martye Alicni of Atlanta, Georgia, Don Voss, and Larry Voss of California and their families.
He was born in Woodville, Texas June 6, 1919 to Martin F. Nellius Sr. and Lucy Edna Best. After attending the University of Texas and Lamar Junior College, he went on to Baylor School of Dentistry where he earned a DDS in 1946 and was a member of Delta Sigma Delta fraternity. Martin was inducted into the Dental Corp of the United States Army, Eighth Service Command, stationed in Leesville, Louisiana and honorably discharged in 1946.
Starting his professional career that same year, he opened his Dental Office in the Perlstein Bldg., later moving to the American Bank Bldg, where he retired in 1975. His professional and civic memberships included the SE Texas Dental Association, the Texas Dental Fellow Organization, the original Beaumont Bachelor’s Club, the downtown Lion’s Club, the Chamber of Commerce and he was a founding member of the Charity Dental Clinic in Beaumont. He was also the co-owner of Piney Creek Hunting Lodge Association in Chester, Texas and a member of the Pine Wood Hunting Club in Sour Lake and several other hunting clubs in the Woodville area.
In 1948 he married Betty Jane Marks and started their family. He joined Calder Baptist Church in its formative years, teaching both High School and College Sunday School Classes. He was ordained as a Deacon and was active on several committees.
Martin loved the great outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He spent every spare minute in the woods or on the lakes and streams of SE Texas. His fellow classmates and professors in college even named him “shot” for his excellent marksmanship and his quick exit from the classroom to the woods on the weekends. If he wasn’t participating in the outdoors, he enjoyed entertaining family and friends with colorful stories of his hunting and fishing adventures in the Piney Woods.
A family committal service will be held Saturday morning, January 19, 2008 at Forest Lawn Cemetery. A Memorial Service will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Calder Baptist Church, 1005 North 11th Street, Beaumont with Dr. Jim Fuller officiating. Following the service there will be a reception for family and friends in the church parlor. A gathering of family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 18, 2008 at Broussard’s 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.
Memorial contributions may be made to Scholarship Fund at Calder Baptist Church, 1005 North 11th Street, Beaumont, Texas 77702.
