Remembering The Nelons
Our life’s story is sometimes made up of brief encounters with others that have a tremendous impact on the momentum of our existence.
These encounters could be seeing someone on a television program that leaves a lasting impression. We might be driving down the road with the radio on when a song blares through the speakers reaching right out and touching our soul.
Seeing and hearing the artists draw us to seek them out in person and attend a concert or some other kind of public appearance where we have the chance to stand at their merchandise table and tell them what an impact a particular song has made in our life.
We hold on to that encounter through the years listening and watching always connected to the personality as new songs and appearances come and go.
The years pass and we all get older and they remain in our heart as part of who we are or were.
If we are lucky, this is the relationship that most of us have musical artists or actors. Sometimes folks gain a closer friendship with these creatives that intertwines our walks.
I have spent my life as a creative in music, acting and writing and have been blessed with many such encounters with legends. Because they welcome me as part of their club, the passing encounters have become deeper friendships as we share our lives on the same canvas, painting a similar picture, to a slightly different tune. We often share life’s celebratory moments together, love one each other’s family members as our own, and mourn with each other in our losses.
This week I will sit down in a church in Roopville, Georgia with a host of my extended gospel music family as we gather to support some of our family as we mourn and all celebrate the lives of three of The Nelons – Kelly Nelon Clark, Jason Clark, and Amber Nelon Kistler along with Amber’s husband Nathan – also a talented vocalist. All lost their lives in a plane crash in Wyoming a couple of weeks ago. Also passing in the crash was their assistant, Melodi Hodges, along with the pilot, Larry Haynie and his wife, Melissa.
The family was on their way to meet the Gaither Homecoming Friends for an Alaskan Cruise to perform for the anxiously awaiting voyagers. The second daughter and her husband – Autumn and her husband Jamie Streetman had traveled separately and were at the airport waiting on her family. She and Jamie would soon be told and join her extended Gaither family briefly before returning back to join her uncle Todd and his family as they deal with what is ahead.
An entire music industry has spent the last couple of weeks immersed in their music, remembering concerts, funny experiences and everything we cherished about these great people. Even as a youth, Autumn is a third generation star in our field as the granddaughter of Rex Nelon who took over the legendary LeFevres of Atlanta, Georgia rebranding the group as the Rex Nelon Singers. Kelly was Rex’s daughter who we all watched grow up, just as we did her daughters Amber and Autumn.
The group is in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Kelly knew she was being inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame next month. Their careers are comprised of years of hit songs and awards. And as a ministry, countless souls brought to Jesus. You can learn more about their recent career at https://www.thenelons.com/.
I have known the Nelons music since Rex’s days with the LeFevres. I grew up near the LeFevres. When I was a young aspiring musician I found myself by happenstance walking in on an early Rex Nelon Singers recording session when I was working on my own first album. That is when I officially met Rex and Kelly.
Through the years, I found myself on concerts with them and as my star rose in music and I started acting on “In the Heat of the Night,” they told me they were regular viewers. It seems Kelly and I have always been friends and we often talked about her daughters and I watched them grow into their gifts. When they began trying acting, we of course also talked about that. The last time we were performing in the same show, they had me join them to play fiddle. I am glad I got to do that. In a way, it was a completion of the circle of that aspiring young fiddler who was in the studio with Rex decades earlier.
Autumn has had her entire family ripped from her life as she and her husband awaits a new child. Her livelihood is also gone and she is having to deal with the expenses related to all her family, if you can assist, a fund has been set up to support the family here: https://give.cornerstone.cc/
