Elsa Purugganan Nelson

Dr. Elsa Purugganan-Nelson Obit Dr. Elsa Purugganan-Nelson of Winter Haven was summoned to Heaven on December 28, 2020 after a distinguished career of providing expert and compassionate care for infants and children as a Pediatrician for nearly six decades in The Philippines, Canada and the United States, including nearly 30 years in Winter Haven. A native of the Philippines, the good doctor came to Winter Haven in 1978 with her husband, Kenneth, and their son, Christopher. She launched a successful solo Pediatric practice in 1978 and on January 1 of 1992 joined Gessler Clinic where she teamed up with Dr. Ranjit Silva and later Dr. George Pilapil, to form the nucleus of the then new Gessler Clinic Childrens Division. She retired from Gessler Clinic and the active practice of medicine on May 31, 2006. She was born on October 23, 1939 as Elsa Celia Cabal-Purugganan in the Sampaloc Maternity Hospital in Manila, Philippines, the daughter of Clotilde (Cabal) and Catalino Purugganan. She grew up in and completed her primary and secondary educations in Roxas, Isabella, Philippines. She is survived by one sister, Leticia (Navarro); two brothers, Cesar (wife Teresita) and Jaime (wife Lorie), and countless nieces and nephews, as well as their children. Elsa’s parents and one brother, Edmund, predeceased her. After graduating from high school in Isabella Province in the late 1950’s she headed to Manila, the national capital of the Philippines, to pursue her life-long dream of a career in medicine. She earned her two-year Pre Med degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 1957 and in 1964 was awarded her Doctor of Medicine degree from Far Eastern University. Concurrently, she was licensed to practice medicine in The Philippines. She always credited her mother with being the driving force behind her success in achieving her medical degrees. Shortly after being licensed as a doctor, she underwent what she ofter described as “a major culture shock” when she left her tropical homeland to accept a Pediatric internship at Grace Hospital, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where she experienced snow and cold weather for the first time in her life. She was elated when her long-time friend and Far Eastern University classmate, Dr. Gracita Sicom, was invited by the hospital to join her as an intern. After completing their internships in Canada, she and Gracita came to the United States as Pediatric residents at Childrens Hospital in Omaha, NE. Elsa, Gracita, who now resides in California and a nurse, Mercy Narraine, who resides in Canada, remained lifelong friends. Elsa served as maid of honor when Gracita and her late husband, George Simon, were married in Nebraska, and Gracita reciprocated by being maid of honor in Elsa married Ken. After successfully completing her Pediatric residency in Nebraska, Elsa headed east to accept a Pediatric residency at Meadowbrook Hospital in Long Island, New York. One of the major milestones of her medical career came when she was chosen after this residency for a fellowship in the then relatively new specialty of Neonatology at Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow, New York. She was on a team of four young doctors who were recognized as pioneers in the field of Neonatology. They were featured in centerfold story published in the November 29, 1971 edition of the Sunday Colorato magazine supplement of the New York Daily News. Before Elsa was summoned to Heaven, she and Ken were looking forward to October 9. 2021 when they would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They met by chance 52 years ago in Hawaii (on December 12, 1968 to be exact) when a tour bus they were on stopped at the world-famous Pali Lookout. Elsa was in Hawaii for only one day enroute home to the Philippines for a long overdue and well-deserved Christmas visit with her family. Ken was there on a vacation from his job as a newspaper reporter in New Jersey. Their initial encounter came when Elsa asked Ken to take a picture with her camera of her and a Filipina nurse she met on the bus. Elsa and Ken met briefly and exchanged information in the restaurant at Elsa’s hotel that night. The next day she flew to Manila and Ken continued his Hawaii vacation by going to Maui. They reunited when Elsa returned to the United States in January of 1969, and dated for nearly three years before being married on October 9, 1971 at St. Bridget Catholic Church is Westbury, Long Island. After their marriage, Ken and Elsa resided in Ken’s hometown of Bloomingdale, New Jersey. He was a reporter for daily and weekly newspapers and she held a position as a house physician specializing in Pediatrics at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey. In 1975, the Nelsons moved to Logan County, West Virginia where she practiced Pediatrics in a small clinic for three years and he was a freelance reporter for Associated Press and other media outlets. It was in West Virginia that Elsa became a naturalized citizen of the United States in a ceremony in the state capitol of Charleston on November 24, 1975. That date was particularly significant because it was on Ken’s birthday. Elsa and Ken were blessed with one son, Christopher, who currently resides in Ponta Vedra, FL with his lovely wife, Lora, and their two wonderful sons, Max, 16 and Hudson, 12. Ken and Elsa agree that Chris was the “greatest anniversary gift” they ever received since they brought him home from Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains, New Jersey on their very first wedding anniversary. Another milestone for the Nelson family was when Elsa extended an invitation to her niece, Joy, to come to Winter Haven from the Philippines at the age of 16 to study nursing. She earned her RN degree at Polk State College and recently achieved an advanced degree as a Nurse Practitioner at Florida Southern College, Joy has been employed as nurse at Winter Haven Hospital, where she has a reputation for delivering quality patient care with an ever present smile on her face for more than 30 years. She is affectionately regarded by Elsa and Ken as their daughter. Throughout her life, Dr. Nelson had a profound faith in God. She was a devout Catholic with a special affinity for Mary, mother of God. She made many pilgrimages to Lourdes and Fatima and was active in spiritual activities of the Winter Haven Filipino community. She took special delight in donating a statue of Mary that anchors the outdoor plaza at St. Matthew Catholic Church where she was a parishioner. Over the years, she spent countless hours in silent prayer and regularly planted flowers at the base of the statue as a sign of her strong devotion to Mary. She also funded the building of a church in a rural area outside of Roxas, Isabella, Philippines called Villa Conception where priests offer Mass for villagers every Sunday. In her retirement, there was nothing she enjoyed more than interacting with her grandsons, Max and Hudson. She also enjoyed and looked forward to attending church, traveling, gardening, preparing gourmet meals, and of course, shopping. Due to the romantic way in which they met in Hawaii, Elsa and Ken made frequent trips to the Aloha State, the most recent being a two week stay in Maui and Oahu in 2018, which was highlighted by a return visit to the Pali Lookout on December 12, 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their memorable first encounter. Doctor Nelson was clearly loved by her patients and their parents, as well as by her Pediatric partners, nurses, staff and fellow physicians. She also was loved by her friends and relatives, and most importantly, by her husband and surviving members of her family in the United States, the Philippines and other countries. Perhaps her life was best summarized in a Facebook post by her son, Chris, which read in part: “She was the best mother anyone could ask for, to my father she was a lifelong companion and loving wife, but to many in Winter Haven she was known as Doctor Nelson. For nearly 30 years, she served the Winter Haven community doing what she loved…taking care of her patients as a renowned Pediatrician and a person with abundant compassion for others. In addition to helping the local community, she never forgot where she came from and always took care of her family back in the Philippines. Her inspiring story of coming from a small farm in the Philippines and immigrating to the United States and becoming a naturalized citizen while fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor made her the epitome of someone truly living the ‘American dream.’” Because of their concern for the health and safety of their relatives, friends and neighbors in this COVID era, the family of Dr. Nelson reluctantly restricted attendance at a Funeral Mass in her honor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Winter Haven and a Memorial Service at Oak Ridge Funeral Center to family members only. She will be laid to rest in another private family ceremony at a future date to be determined in the Columbarium at St. Matthew Church in Winter Haven.