Nurse was born as Velma I. Marr in Jordan Mountain, a hamlet in New Brunswick, Canada, on 11 February 1913 as the second and youngest child of Seymour Clayton Marr and Julia A. Hall. She had a brother, Albert Raymond Marr.

In 1923, Nurse emigrated with her family to the United States, settling in South Portland, Maine. She married her first husband, Norman Stanton Whiting, on 3 June 1933. The couple had one daughter, Norma, and built their house in 1937, where Nurse would live for the rest of her life. The following year, she became a naturalised U. S. citizen.

Nurse was widowed in 1956, and married her second husband, Robert Phillipps Nurse Sr., on 29 May 1958. The couple enjoyed travelling to numerous Québec lakes on fishing trips, and owned a hunting camp in North New Portland. They also visited relatives in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. They were regular volunteers at The First United Methodist Church of South Portland.

Nurse had several occupations, including working at Portland’s Porteous, Mitchell & Braun Co., as well as a florist at Dodge the Florist in Deering, a neighbourhood of Portland.

Nurse was a lover of animals and birds; she was a talented gardener and enjoyed crafts. At the age of 100, she fell in the snow while trying to reach her clothesline, but suffered no injuries.

Nurse died on 8 April 2023 at the age of 110 years, 56 days. She was survived by her daughter Norma and her three grandchildren, as well as her three stepchildren. She is one of the top 10 oldest people ever to die in Maine.