George D. Nelson, Sr.

Founder & President
Life Insurance Company of Louisiana

Laureate 1996

George D. Nelson, Sr., was born in Junction City, Louisiana. He graduated from Minden High School and continued his education at Louisiana State University, where he received a Bachelors degree and a Juris Doctorate.

Professionally, Mr. Nelson was president and managing director of Querbes & Nelson, Inc., a regional insurance agency founded in 1914, and president of the Life Insurance Company of Louisiana, which he founded in 1964. He was a longtime member and twice president (1969 and 1970) of the Council for A Better Louisiana. He also served in leadership roles with Louisiana Companies, Inc., the Alternate View Network, Willis-Knighton Medical Center, Hearts for Life Foundation, the Institute of International Education, and the Louisiana Partnership for Technology and Innovation. For his many business and civic activities, he received Shreveports Clyde E. Fant Award for Community Service in 1973.

Mr. Nelson was an Eagle Scout and held memberships in a number of clubs, fraternities and sororities, including the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, the American Bar Association, and the Louisiana Bar Association. He also served on the 8th Air Force Consultation Committee, Public Affairs Research Council, and Committee of One Hundred.

In 1995, when he stepped down as chairman of the Centenary Board of Trustees, the City of Shreveport observed George D. Nelson, Sr., Day in his honor, citing his remarkable abilities as mediator and advocate and his role in helping the college achieve national acclaim.

As a member of the board of the First United Methodist Church in Shreveport, Dr. Nelson served on every major committee of the local church and the Louisiana Conference and was a member of the Investment Committee of the First United Methodist Foundation.

Mr. Nelson passed away on January 5th, 2004, at the age of 86. He and his wife, Nell Carolyn Querbes Nelson, had two children, George and Carolyn, along with several grandchildren.