Dr. Talmadge S. Nelson's Obituary
Dr. Talmadge S. Nelson passed away Wednesday, December 20, 2023, in his hometown of Fayetteville. He was born on January 25, 1928 in Booneville, Arkansas to Seab Sam and Pearl Eula Pyles Nelson.
Tal graduated from Booneville High School in 1946 and joined the Navy shortly thereafter when a woman from the draft office called to let him know his number for army service would be drawn the following week. He served in Navy Air Group 19 and worked as an airplane mechanic for the F8F Bearcat on the U.S. Boxer aircraft carrier and received a WWII Victory medal. After his Navy service ended in 1948, Talmadge enrolled at the University of Arkansas and majored in animal and poultry science. Talmadge graduated from the U of A in 1952 and worked for the Arkansas Plant Board before earning a master’s degree from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
While attending Cornell, Talmadge met Laverne Smith during summer breaks and enjoyed spending time with her at the only available social venue in Booneville – the local little league games. They wrote to each other often and Talmadge proposed to her in a letter suggesting she move with him to Glenview, Illinois so he could take care of her. He worked for International Mineral and Chemical Corporation in the Research and Development Division.
They eventually settled in Fayetteville where Tal was a faculty member in the animal science and poultry science departments. His research involved the study of minerals, and he is credited with some of the original work on phytase to hydrolyze phytase phosphorus in the digestive tract of chickens, making it available for metabolic use. In 1980, Talmadge was invited by the American Soybean Association and Foreign Agriculture Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to travel to Beijing, China as a part of the first U.S. Agri Trade Show in China. He was a featured expert to discuss how China could improve poultry feeds. He also received research grants from the Arkansas Poultry Federation and Tyson Foods to conduct feeding experiments to solve “weak legs” in chicks. The Poultry Science Association presented him with the American Feed Industries Nutrition Research award recognizing his contributions to poultry research.
Tal also enjoyed mentoring students. Dr. Michael Kidd, Professor of Poultry Science at the U of A, said Tal was a pioneer in the industry. “Dr. Nelson impacted my life and influenced my research career with his keen methodology, but when we met in 1988, I had no idea of the impact of his research. Indeed, his chemistry discoveries, namely with phytase in broiler chicks, were so impactful he was truly ahead of his time. In 2016, he co-authored a book chapter with me on phytase and we drafted a tribute to his early phytase work which described research results from the mid-1960s and established that his work was over half a century ahead of current knowledge.”
In addition to his research career, Talmadge was a member of the strategic planning committee for the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science. For many years, he was the faculty member in charge of scholarship programs, served as co-chairman of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference, and was the Contest Coordinator of the National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest. He achieved the rank of University Professor before retiring in 1994. In his spare time, Talmadge volunteered for the Goshen Fire Department responding to fires, medical emergencies, and car accidents at all hours throughout the night. When he was too old to provide assistance, he directed traffic on highway 45 until the police arrived.
Tal transitioned into retirement with energy and enthusiasm. He loved his grandchildren and enjoyed making toys, hiking to the pond, and giving them rides in a red wagon behind the lawnmower. They were his pride and joy. He played golf and enjoyed his beloved Wednesday morning coffee group. Tal also took advantage of Laverne’s social groups including her Food for Thought book club, summer art camps, and Watercolor and Wine. He had a knack of showing up right when it was time to eat, often asking the ladies what special treats they made for him. He especially loved Laverne’s weekly happy hours with the winos. After Laverne passed, he asked if his weekly happy hour could continue, and the group became affectionately known as Tal’s Winos.
The family is grateful to their parents’ friends and extended family who visited with Tal. The amazing caregivers from La Grande Living and the staff at Circle of Life Hospice provided great comfort over the past three years.
Tal is survived by his daughter, Katy Nelson-Ginder and her husband Grant of Fayetteville; two sons, Matt Nelson of Booneville and Sam Nelson of Saint Louis, Missouri; one sister, Wynema Littlefield of Fort Smith; a nephew, Buddy Littlefield of Booneville; a niece Kathy Snyman of Springdale and five grandchildren, Austin Zimmerman, Moxie Liles, Rees Nelson, Rebekah Nelson and Ruthie Nelson.
A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 6 at Son’s Chapel Cemetery in Fayetteville under the direction of Moore’s Chapel in Fayetteville. A Celebration of Life event will follow at 2:30 p.m. at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences, 1371 W. Altheimer Drive, Fayetteville. Guests are welcome to attend either or both services.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Poultry Science Department https://giving.uark.edu.
To place an online tribute, please visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com/
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