DEATH / LODGE NOTICES
NELSON, JR., Spotswood Page
Spotswood Page Nelson Jr. died on October 29, 2023 in Wilmington, DE. We lost a character, an artist, a brilliant mind and a generous friend.
Page was born on December 11, 1925 in Baltimore, MD, the son of Spotswood Page Nelson and Julie Forrest Nelson. His sister, Julie Nelson Williams, predeceased him. A Baltimore native, Page was one of the few boys to attend Bryn Mawr School before moving on to McDonogh School. He attended Yale University for one year, where he excelled in golf, before enlisting in the Navy. After graduating from Yale, Page began a 25-year career in banking, first at the Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company, then at Loyola Federal Savings and Loan, and finally at Robert Garrett and Sons.
Leaving banking behind, Page started his second career: fixing things that were old, made of wood and in trouble. He dealt in beauty and permanence. Beginning in the basement of the St. Paul’s Rectory, he founded Nelson & Co in 1976 in the carriage house of Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon Club. When the fire marshall discovered what was going on, Page relocated the business to an old stone mill building along the Jones Falls. Soon the two floors of the old factory were filled with wobbly chairs, sideboards and clocks needing a fix or a new finish. His restoration work helped launch careers for many of his staff, sometimes buying them a tool, paying for their schooling, or simply coaching them to “get your thumb out of your arse and figure it out.” “Once you do a good job, you get another,” was his mantra. He never retired; he never lost his joy for this work.
To his wife, Anne Canby, and children and grandchildren, nothing seemed out of reach. He would stay up all night to help finish a school project. He carved and painted his own decoys. He made extravagant breakfasts and even better desserts. He loved nothing more than a good run to the dump.
Many claimed Page as their second father. Generous, funny, and “wicked smart,” he delighted in the small things: making Granddaddy pancakes for breakfast, bringing his homemade applesauce to a friend, or making candlesticks from his wood scraps and giving them away. He mixed class with sass.
Page is survived by his wife, Anne Canby of Wilmington, DE; his children Holly Ghazey, Lili Brown and Page Nelson; his two sons-in-laws, Robert Ghazey and Stanford Brown; his sister-in-law Alicia Smith; his niece, Julia Williams Boyd, and nephew Edward Monroe Williams; his four grand-children and seven great grandchildren, and his former wife, Julie Reiner Woods. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Page’s memory to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation or the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are welcome.
A memorial service will take place on December 12, 2023 at the Elkridge Club in Baltimore, MD.
For online condolences, please visit www.chandlerfuneralhome.com