Nelda Raye Jumper Clark, 85, was born in Kermit, Texas, to Davis Clyde Jumper and Nadine Miller Tuttle on May 12, 1941. On August 15, 2026, she was born into heaven and now rejoices with her Savior and loved ones. Nelda loved Jesus, and her greatest gift was modeling His redeeming love and saving grace for others.

Nelda spent her school days in Kermit, Midland, and Odessa, where she spent much time with her grandmother, aunts, and uncles. At Odessa High School, she met and married the love of her life, Donald Wayne Clark, on June 28, 1958.

Nelda believed it was never too late to change the trajectory of your life. In 1976, she completed her General Education Diploma and started college, graduating in 1994. Nelda taught in Odessa public schools for over thirty years. She worked as a Physical Education Aide at San Jacinto Elementary and then as a Special Education Aide at Dowling Elementary and Blanton Elementary, where she became the Special Education Resource teacher. She also taught at Noel Elementary until her retirement from Ector County Independent School District in 2004. She loved kids and teaching reading, the collaborative school environment, and building teacher resources!

Nelda loved her family fiercely and always put her partner and girls first. She loved her friends, church, and community. She and Don enjoyed traveling with friends and family, cruising internationally and throughout the USA. She was a faithful sidekick to Don and attended Friday Night football and many other sporting events with him. Nelda was an independent wife and mother who would drop everything to travel with her girls to see family or take a spontaneous trip to the Sandhills with her grandkids.

Nelda was a fun mom, letting her girls get by with too much. She drove many toilet-papering capers, stayed patient during Chinese fire drills, and was good-natured when they taunted her for wearing a wig when she wouldn’t take them for ice cream after church. She was a faithful member of Eisenhower Church of Christ, where she took her kids on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday nights until Don was saved in 1980 and she began attending First Baptist Church. They faithfully attended Sunday school at First Baptist for the rest of their lives and loved their teachers and friends.

Nelda’s biggest love outside of Jesus and Don was her girls and her grandkids. She spent endless hours driving them to and from events, taking them to Walter’s for cherry limeades, shopping, and vacationing. She was always the first to bathe a new grandchild, stayed the first week or so of every newborn's life, attended their school and athletic events, and always had games and age-appropriate activities ready when the kids stayed for sleepovers. Books, books, and more books were her motto. She read about and played music, videos, and tapes about Jesus and made a point of helping the kids get to Church events.

Nelda loved her big family and spent the majority of her time with them. One of her favorite activities with the grandkids was making colored pancakes when they stayed over; a tradition carried on by them. Mom was non-verbal for the last six years, and her caregivers would often ask, “What did she like to do?” Our answer was always the same. She would be so happy and content to be with us and share our lives.

Nelda is preceded in death by her loving husband of sixty-one years, Don Clark. She is survived by her family: Children, Donella and Butch Oliver; Cheri and Bill Harper; siblings, Becky and Steve Determine; and Craig and Lisa Jumper. Her grandchildren: Nicholus and Haylee Oliver; Neal and Vicky Oliver; Noelle Oliver; Andrea and Carey Sills; William and Morgan Harper; Walter and Crystal Stoltz; Joseph and Keithlynn Harper; Matthew and Valerie Harper; and Tatum Harper. Great-grandchildren: Marin, Harry, and Loralei Sills; Kambree Weatherford; Coltten, Scout, and Radley Oliver; Harper and Hollen Oliver; Avalon and Novak Harper; William and Sloane Harper; and Watson and Cohen Stoltz.

The family wishes to thank Adela Reyes and Shae Rucker for being wonderful caregivers and UMC Hospice of Lubbock for all their dedication, love, and care for Nelda. They are the Best!

The family will hold a celebration of life on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at 10 AM at First Baptist Church, Odessa, in the parlor.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First Baptist Church Children’s Ministry.