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Valle del Sol honors Karen Bailey & Nelda Majors as a 2018 Mom of the Year honorees

Posted at 8:11 AM, May 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-10 18:06:53-04

Nelda Majors and Karen Bailey have been together for 60 years. For most
of their lives they hid their identities as gay women. In the course of their lives together they adopted their two great, great nieces. They have raised these two wonderful girls and provided them with a loving and stable home.

About 8 years ago, they became active in advocating for marriage equality. They spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court, were represented by Lambda Legal and have been outspoken in the community.

Karen was born in 1939 in Maddisonville, Texas. She attended Sam Houston University, University of Houston, and the Art Institute of Houston. Karen worked at Superior Oil Company in Houston for 13 years until she quit and went to work with Nelda when she started her physical therapy business. When she retired, Karen became interested in doing water color paintings and ballroom dancing with Fred Astaire and competed across the world. Shortly after retiring, she was raising her great great nieces, Sharla Danielle and Marissa Diamond. Sharla was 4 when she came to live with them, and she is now 26. Six years later Marissa came to live with them. They moved to Arizona in 2005.

Nelda was born in 1938 in Houston, Texas. She's a University of Houston graduate with a degree in sociology and physical therapy. Nelda graduated from Herman school of physical therapy and started her own business contracting with hospitals to provide physical therapy. Her business started with one hospital and one out patient department in Houston and when she retired she had contracted with 33 hospitals in Texas, Arkanasas, and Oklahoma. Plus, she worked with 6 outpatient departments. Nelda also played softball from 11 years old until her 30s. She is a hall of fame fast pitch pitcher and received many awards while she played.