Eleanor Eugenia Nelson Conrad passed away peacefully in her home on the morning of June 27, 2023. She was born in Champaign, Illinois on February 14, 1924, to parents Cecil D. and Carrie (Earnest) Nelson, the oldest daughter of six children. She attended schools in Champaign and graduated from Champaign High School in 1942, where she was a member of the National Honor Society.

Following high school graduation, Eleanor completed her undergraduate program at the University of Illinois in three years, finishing in 1945 and earning her masters' degree in 1947, both degrees in Home Economics. She was elected to Phi Upsilon Omicron, the National Home Economics Society in 1945. During that period, she also taught home economics at Morris Brown College, a historically Black college in Atlanta, GA. In 1949 she married Emmett J. Conrad, a medical doctor and captain in the Air Force, stationed at Chanute Air Force Base. Following Dr. Conrad's military service, the family moved to St. Louis, where Eleanor worked in the public school system as a teacher. In 1955, after the birth of their daughter Cecilia, the family moved to Dallas, Texas where Dr. Conrad began work at St. Paul Hospital, the first hospital in Dallas to extend privileges to Black doctors.

Eleanor and her husband were quickly immersed in the civic life of Dallas. No stranger to segregation, the level she encountered in Texas was glaring and led her to become actively involved in the fight for social justice. Her daughter, Cecilia, writes of her mother "One of my early memories of mom is watching her on the evening news. She was participating in a sit-in at the Greyhound bus station lunch counter. There she was, dressed to the nines, risking arrest for being denied a cup of coffee. Eleanor Nelson Conrad is a civil rights pioneer, a community servant who has dedicated her life to make the world a better place not just for me but for people everywhere."

1n 1967 she served as the campaign manager for her husband's bid to become the first African American Board of Trustee member of the Dallas Independent School District. He won! This success introduced Eleanor to further involvements and the breaking of other historical barriers. In 1972 she became the first African American to be elected Foreman of the Dallas County Grand Jury.

Appointed as a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board which is responsible for coordinating all state-supported colleges and universities in Texas, she served on several committees. By 1984 D Magazine describes Eleanor as part of the "old-girl network" of Dallas, indicating that her vote as a member of the Coordinating Board is "critically important to this city when an engineering school for the University of Texas comes up for consideration." That program, The Erik Johnsson School of Engineering and Computer Science was established at the University of Texas at Dallas in 1986 as a result.

Following Dr. Conrad's death in 1993, Eleanor was called into service again, appointed by Governor Ann Richards to fulfill her husband's term on the Texas State Board of Education during a turbulent time when the Texas legislature struggled to establish financial equity for school districts.

Eleanor's involvement in public service was not just bound by her work locally in Dallas and statewide in Texas. From 1972-1978 she was a member of the United Methodist Church National Board of Church and Society, one of four international general boards of the UMC that focused its efforts on improving society through justice ministry. She was an active, long-time member of Warren United Methodist Church.

Throughout the years, Eleanor served on the boards of many organizations. A partial list includes the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Dallas Historical Society, Dallas Symphony

Orchestra and North Texas Public Broadcasting. She served as the president of the St. Paul Hospital Medical Center Auxiliary and was awarded Volunteer of the Year in 1987. She served as the president of the Women's Council of Dallas County from 1991-1995. A life member of the NAACP, Eleanor was a founding member of the Circle-Lets, Inc. and has been a member of the Priscilla Arts Club, the oldest African American women's organization in Dallas County, for over 60 years. In 2015, Eleanor was selected for the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation for her lifetime of achievements.

In 1943, while an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, Eleanor pledged the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Upon arrival in Dallas, she began her affiliation with the Alpha Xi Omega Chapter of the sorority and was a Life Member. In 2018 she was honored as a Diamond Soror, celebrating 75 years of membership and service.

State Senator Royce West of Texas who established the Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Internship Program, an intern program for college students in honor of Dr. Conrad, describes Mrs. Conrad and her family as "staunch supporters and patrons of the program." Each year she met with the young students involved to motivate them to the next level. She has been a shining example of a woman of inner strength who was never afraid to speak her mind. She learned early on from her family to never accept "second best" and always worked hard in pursuit of excellence, encouraging those around her. She contributed significantly to her community and earned the admiration and respect of many at a time when African American women were virtually invisible and certainly not invited to the table. Yet with tenacity, she was able to accomplish much.

A world traveler and consummate hostess, at the age of ninety-three, she danced the night away at her grandson's wedding. Her Super Bowl parties complete with gumbo were legendary. Eleanor was a caring daughter, a devoted wife, a loving mother, a proud grandmother, a beloved auntie, a loyal friend, and a dedicated community servant. She was a joy to her family!

Eleanor was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, brothers Cecil D. Nelson, Jr. and Earnest Nelson and sisters Estelle Merrifield and Hester Suggs.

She is survived by her daughter Cecilia, CEO of Chicago-based Lever for Change, and her husband, Llewellyn Miller; and grandson Conrad Miller, his wife Shahrzad Zarafshar and their daughter Zara. She is also survived by sister Eunice Rivers and a host of cousins, nieces, and nephews, including niece Ramona Suggs Winrow, her husband William Winrow, Jr., and grand-nephews William Winrow III, Justin Winrow and Nelson Winrow.

The family would like to give a special thanks to caregivers Cynthia Norman, Mary Jennings, Carolyn Harbor, and Dr. Sharon Larkin for all of the love, care and support.