Nellie was born in Indiana to James Madison ORR (1844-bef 1930), a brick mason, and Ruth Jane HOLSTLAW Orr (1849-?). Nellie's only brother, Oscar Owen ORR (1870-1947), was born in Patoka in 1870, shortly before her parents returned to live in Illinois where Edna Earl ORR Coffman Doyle (1874-1963) and Anna Amy ORR Broughton (1876-1944) were born. When she was 10 years old, owing to her mother's health, Nellie's family moved to Texas. They crossed the plains in an ox-wagon and settled on a farm in Coleman County, near Abiline.
Shortly after she graduated high school, Nellie met George Ball ROBERSON, a Dallas contractor. They were married in the summer of 1887. Several months later, George died accidentally in a fire before his son, George Roberson Jr., was born. Nellie's parents and brother and sisters had already gone farther west to Los Angeles, so Nellie decided to follow them. In 1889, Nellie arrived with her small son in California. She soon met Harry Lee Coffman, who operated 20 acres of walnut trees for his father, Charles, one of the organizers of the Southern California Walnut Growers Association. Nellie and Harry were married on March 5, 1891. Soon after their marriage, Harry went to medical school. They had one son, Owen Earl COFFMAN, born March 28, 1892.
In 1909, Nellie and her husband, Dr. Harry Coffman, opened the Desert Inn Sanatorium in the tiny, unicorporated town called Palm Springs. Dr. Coffman had intent of treating people with various ailments, most notably consumption.
In 1914, after a few years in the Sanatorium business, Nellie decided a change was needed. She converted the business into a hotel. Nellie's husband, Dr. Harry, wasn't happy with this decision, because doctoring people was his life's passion, so he and Nellie divorced. Dr. Coffman left Palm Springs and practiced medicine farther down the Coachelle Valley and later in San Diego County. He died in 1935.
The hotel quickly became a world-renowned resort catering to the very wealthy, which included captains of industry and well-known millionaires such as the Vanderbilt and Hearst families. While Dr. Coffman continued to practice medicine in the area, Nellie took on the operations of the inn.
Nellie and her two sons, George Roberson and Earl Coffman, continually added to the property until, by the late 1920's, the hotel became a white walled, Indian-Spanish inspired landmark, complete with red-tiled roof and wide verandas of terra cotta. The gardens boasted the best of desert flora.
During it's high time, the Desert Inn welcomed the top Hollywood stars to its guest rooms. The fabled Desert Inn closed its doors in 1955, after Nellie's death, and it was demolished in the 1960s to be replaced by the Desert Fashion Plaza.
Nellie Coffman has been recognized and remembered by having a star on the Palm Springs walk of fame. In addition, she has a middle school named after her in the Palm Springs School District.