Denise M. (Mercier) Nelson

Denise M. (Mercier) Nelson, age 49, of Marlborough, died Thursday, September 16, 2021 at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA.  Her passing came after a 15-month battle with cancer that ultimately ended, but did not define, her unique and beautiful life.

She was the daughter of Donald and Barbara (Ouellette) Mercier.  She was married to John Nelson for 23 years.   Besides her husband and parents, she is survived by her daughter, Laura Nelson, her son, Mark Nelson, her brother, Gary Mercier and his wife Kelly and nieces Paige and Sydney, her parents-in-law Terry and Poppy Nelson, brother-in-law Matt Nelson and his wife Melissa and nephews Jack and Evan.  She also leaves her extended family including aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends.

Denise graduated from Belmont High School in 1989 and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in Wetland Ecology from The University of New Hampshire in 1993.  She worked at multiple companies in the field performing hazardous waste site remediation and wastewater treatment projects.  She left her last job in the field at Envirogen in 2003 to become a full-time Mom and also worked in real estate until her passing.

Denise was a kind, loving person with a wonderful sense of humor and a contagious laugh.  She had a sense of adventure that drove her to explore new places including family trips to Hawaii, Alaska and Yellowstone.  She loved spending time at her camp at the lake in Meredith, New Hampshire.  Family was very important to Denise - she loved her children fiercely and spent a great deal of time volunteering in her community and church, where she was a faith formation teacher.  She was active in the Richer and Whitcomb PTO and especially enjoyed running the Whitcomb Middle School Scholastic Book Fair which she did for many years.  She also loved spending time with her book club (probably because it was part book-related and part shenanigans!).  And it can’t be forgotten that she loved her cats from childhood to present – Tiger, Isis (Spicy), and even Dickens (who is living up to his name).  

Our hearts are broken right now but soon our memories will let us smile again.

Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 from 5:00PM – 8:00PM at the Slattery Funeral Home, Inc., 40 Pleasant St., Marlborough, MA 01752. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 10:00 AM at St. Matthias Church, 409 Hemenway St., Marlborough, MA. Burial will follow at Highland Meadow Cemetery, 700 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.

Donations may be made to Friends of the Meredith Library via their PayPal account (friends@meredithlibrary.org) or St. Matthias Parish (https://stmattpar.churchgiving.com/ws/opportunities/MemorialorSacramentalDonation).

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