Editing Ed Nelson (section)

== Later years ==
In 1999, Nelson returned to Tulane University to finish credits toward his undergraduate degree,<ref name="nola" /> which he completed the following year at age 71. He and his wife, Patsy, enjoyed semi-retirement visiting their six children and 14 grandchildren. One of his children is actor Christopher S. Nelson.

Until 2005, he had been teaching acting and screenwriting in New Orleans at two local universities. [[Hurricane Katrina]] prompted him to move his family far to the north to [[Sterlington, Louisiana]]. At the time of his death, however, he had moved to [[Greensboro, North Carolina]], where he had been in hospice care. He died at age 85.<ref name="nytimes" />