Nellie Mae Feazel Tuberville

It is with hearts full of gratitude to her heavenly Father that we announce that Nellie Mae Feazel Turbeville stepped into eternity, into the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in the early morning hours of Monday, September 7, 2026, at 2:30 a.m., in El Paso, Texas.

Nellie was born on Wednesday, June 24, 1931, at home in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, near the small farming communities of Athens and Arcadia, the daughter of Turner Franklin Feazel and Edith Amanda Johnson Feazel. She arrived during the depths of the Great Depression, and though the family lost their farm within months of her birth, they rebuilt their lives together just a few miles away, where Nellie spent her girlhood among cotton fields, peach orchards, and the steady rhythms of farm life she would recall with fondness for the rest of her days. She was joined a year later by her only sibling, brother John Irvin Feazel.

Nellie attended the one-room Hurricane School through the eighth grade before finishing her education at Athens High School, where she graduated second in her class in 1948 — narrowly missing valedictorian honors by a single misattributed grade. Though her heart was set on becoming a Home Economics teacher, college was not within her family's means, and instead she went to work, first at a dime store and later at a cleaners in Arcadia, Louisiana.

It was there, through the large picture window of the cleaners' office, that she first noticed a young man in Army khakis crossing the street to the post office each day. That young man was Cunliffe Adam "C.A." Turbeville, Jr., and their courtship moved quickly: they met in May of 1953 and were married on June 9th of that same year at the Methodist parsonage in Arcadia. Their marriage carried them across the South — from Arcadia to Valley Park, Vicksburg, St. Francisville, Centreville, and Tallulah, and, eventually, back home again — following C.A.'s work with the Illinois Central Railroad.

Nellie and C.A. raised three children, Debbra Renee, Caroll Dale, and Darlene Frances, born within the span of four years and raised with equal parts discipline, laughter, and unwavering Christian devotion. Nellie was, in her family's own words, the rock and the hub of the family — the center around which four generations of Turbevilles, Velasquezes, Morans, O'Briens, Schwabs, Gateses, Carrascos, Carrs, Nelson, Salazar, Serna, Poers, Nichols and Praters would gather, year after year.

Known to her growing family simply as "Nana," Nellie was famous for her Southern cooking — her enchiladas, her peanut butter fudge, her chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting — and no grandchild left her table without a clean plate and a story told. She sewed matching outfits for cousins by the dozen, quilted, gardened, and sang gospel hymns while she worked. She read her Bible every day, often more than once, and made sure her family understood that church was not an obligation but a privilege. Her faith traced back through generations of her father's family to John Rogers, the sixteenth-century English clergyman and Bible translator remembered as the first martyr to give his life for the Protestant faith under the reign of Queen Mary I — a heritage of unshakable conviction that Nellie carried forward and instilled in her own children and grandchildren.

Nellie was preceded in death by her parents, Turner Franklin Feazel and Edith Amanda Johnson Feazel of Athens, Louisiana; her brother, John Irvin Feazel; her beloved husband, Cunliffe Adam Turbeville, Jr.; and a beloved son-in-law, Pastor Kevin O'Brien of Bethany Baptist Church, Lubbock, Texas.

She is survived by her three children, Debbra Renee Turbeville Velasquez (Marcelino), Caroll Dale Turbeville (Lori), and Darlene Frances Turbeville O'Brien Schwab (Lonnie); nineteen grandchildren; forty great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild — a family that grew, in her own daughter's words, from three children to sixty-something, each one held dear in her heart and her prayers.

By Debbra: grandchildren Valorie Gates (Chris), Rachel Nelson (Brian), Tony Velasquez, and Leah Carrasco (David); great-grandchildren Jaden Serna (Dave), Alyssa Gates, Bailey Gates, Morgan Gates, Josiah Nelson, Daron Calvo, Catherine Coronado, Noah Carrasco, Violet Carrasco, and Luke Carrasco; and one great-great-grandchild, David Serna.

By Caroll: grandchildren Carrie Poer (Michael), Adam Turbeville, Joseph Turbeville, Caleb Turbeville (Angela), Rebekah Salazar (John), Abigail Nichols (Alex), Jim Moran (Shelby), Sean Moran, Kyle Moran, and Katie Hunt (Aidan); and great-grandchildren McKenzie Moran, Logan Moran, Deacon Moran, Olivia Poer, Marleigh Moran, Maddy Moran, Macy Moran, Anna Poer, Kolton Turbeville, Landon Poer, Bella Turbeville, Bennett Turbeville, Paisley Turbeville, Roman Turbeville, Baylor Turbeville, Beckam Turbeville, Riley Turbeville, Branson Turbeville, Maximus Nichols, Judah Salazar, Christy Nichols, and Athena Salazar.

By Darlene: grandchildren Jeremy O'Brien, Jenilee Prater (Tyler), Juliana Carr (Nicholas), Sarah Conner (Anthony), and Alecia Lane (Tim); and great-grandchildren Griffyn O'Brien, Kevin Prater, Kinley Carr, Kasen Carr, Michael Conner, Jayden Conner, Joshua Conner, and Madison Conner.

Nellie's family wishes to express their deep appreciation to the loving staff of Nurses Foster Home on Dick Lotz, El Paso, Texas, for their tender and devoted care of Nellie in her final days.

The family also extends special gratitude to Three Oaks Hospice for their compassionate and faithful care shown to Nellie and her family throughout this time.

Above all else, Nellie desired that her life be remembered as a testimony to Proverbs 31 — a woman whose children arise and call her blessed.

Services will be held at Sunset Funeral Home, 750 N. Carolina, El Paso, Texas, on Monday, September 14, 2026. Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., with the memorial service at 6:00 p.m. and the eulogy at 7:00 p.m. Burial with a graveside memorial will follow at Hurricane Cemetery, Athens, Louisiana, on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.