42. He Wanted It To Stop
Harmon saw the wretched damage this trial was doing, and he wanted to stop it. From out of nowhere, he decided to drop the case. Harmon agreed to only having visitation rights with Sam. But Nelson had to agree to attend therapy with her son and Harmon. Miraculously, Nelson was getting a second chance with her son.
While things were looking up in her life, Nelson made a huge life decision.
Screenshot from NCIS, CBS Media Ventures (2003-Present)
43. She Walked Down The Aisle
In 1988, Nelson gave marriage another try. This time it was Mark Tinker, the son of NBC executive Grant Tinker and TV icon Mary Tyler Moore. Tinker had a connection to Nelson's brother. He was the producer on St Elsewhere, a hospital drama Harmon had appeared on for three seasons. Sadly, their marriage lasted only until 2000.
Done with marriage, Nelson decided to relocate.
44. She Found Her Own Paradise
Nelson settled in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here, she had time to spend with her children. Tracy Nelson had followed in her parents’ footsteps and appeared in many TV shows as a guest star and also as a regular on Square Pegs opposite Sarah Jessica Parker. She also studied ballet for 17 years.
Her brothers were also in show business.
Jim Accordino at https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmyack205/, Wikimedia Commons
45. The Twins Make Music
Nelson’s twins, Matthew and Gunnar, had become musicians and formed the hard rock duo called Nelson. Unlike their father, the twins have maintained a healthy image free of scandal. Their most recent gig was on season 2 of the superhero TV series Peacemaker in 2025.
But we can’t forget the youngest sibling: Sam Nelson.
User:Megproc84, Wikimedia Commons
46. He’s A Survivor
Nelson’s youngest child is Sam, and it was he who perhaps suffered the most in the family’s dramas. The tug-of-war between Nelson and her brother Mark Harmon certainly could have scarred young Sam for life. When he became an adult, Sam studied psychology and film at Boston College. Happily, Sam says he and Nelson are “absolutely close”.
Nelson seemed content to spend her final days in New Mexico. But her health was soon an issue.
47. She Had A Scare
Sometime around 2017, Tracy said that her mother had a health scare. It was so bad that Nelson ended up in a coma. Tracy remembers looking at her mother and seeing her clenched jaw. Still, she knew that she still had some fight left in her. She was right, Nelson recovered.
But she didn’t have long to live.
48. She Passed
On April 27, 2018, Nelson died of a heart attack at her home in Sante Fe. She was 72. To announce her passing, Tracy took to social media, publicly posting about her mother's demise on May 1, 2018. The weird thing was: no one seemed to notice.
49. She Posted About Her Loss
In her Facebook post, Tracy didn't hold back in her praise. She referred to her mom’s ability to party and called her a “cool person”. Afterward, Tracy likely expected the world to respond. But that’s not what happened.
Strangely enough, it was her brother who brought eyes to the post.
50. She Almost Got Missed
At the time of Nelson’s passing, her brother Harmon was appearing in CBS’s hit show NCIS. By chance, the show was having its season finale. Because of the excitement over the finale, the media stumbled upon Tracy’s Facebook post. If it hadn’t been for NCIS, who knows when the world would have noticed Nelson’s passing. Luckily, she had her kids in her life at the end.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Image
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Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
