Obituary of Patricia Earnestine Nance

Patricia Earnestine Russell Nance, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, former Norman, OK resident, opened her eyes in heaven early Thursday morning, January 7, 2021, in Fort Worth, TX at the age of 87. Her life will be celebrated at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 13, at Oak Hill Cemetery in Mannford, OK. Patricia leaves a legacy of faith and family enveloping 3 children, 8 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren and counting. She was born on October 8th, 1933 in Ramona, Oklahoma to Earnest Lloyd and Mary Celeste Russell. She accepted Christ into her life when she was 15. Patricia and Jimmy Eugene Nance were married on May 20, 1951, and he promptly shipped out to Korea. After returning home from serving his country, Jim & Pat lived in Tulsa, Moore, and Purcell, OK. Pat babysat in their home when they lived in Tulsa and worked at the church daycare center in Moore. The family moved to Wakita at Christmas time in 1967 where Jim worked at the Sun Oil Gas Plant first as an operator and then as Plant Manager. Pat went to work at Wako, Inc. and for the Wakita Public Schools in order to help put her children through college. Pat’s time spent in Wakita was one of her greatest times of spiritual growth after the Lay Witness Mission in April 1971 in the United Methodist Church. Jim and Pat were faithful members of Goodrich Memorial United Methodist Church when they moved to Norman in 1984. Pat was involved in almost every aspect of United Methodist Women, Goodrich Chronologically Gifted (GCGer’s) and the church in general. She loved to help wherever and however she could. She put countless hours into sewing beads and sequins onto special decorative pieces for the bazaar. She prepared food for bereavement dinners, she always had a smile and a caring heart. Pat participated in Bible Study Fellowship and also taught a women’s Sunday school class. She handmade Christmas ornaments and Christmas stockings for each of her grandchildren. When a grandchild married she had a stocking ready for the grandchild’s spouse. Granddaughter, Kourtney, said it best, “A word that comes to my mind when I think of Grandma is "present." Grandma and Grandpa Nance made it a priority to be so present in all our lives. Birthday celebrations, weddings, births, baptisms, Christmases, graduations, ball games.... they showed how much they cared by being present in the big and the small moments in our lives.” When Jim retired they enjoyed traveling with their children and their families. Jimmy and Patricia Nance were married for 67 years. The last ten years may have been robbed of memories by Alzheimer’s disease, but their love for each other endured. If you so desire, join us in honoring their love and devotion by making donations here: http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Events/Tributes-AlzheimersChampions?pxfid=491109&fr_id=1060&pg=fund She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Mary Lee, Margaret, her brother, Jay, and her husband Jimmy. Patricia is survived by; sons, James L. Nance (Dana) of Haslet, TX; Kevin G. Nance (Karen) of Houston, TX; daughter, Patricia Carol Frana (Joe) of Fort Worth, TX; and sister, Catherine Hardy, Tulsa, OK; grandchildren, Melody J. Smith (Shawn) of Dallas, TX, James P. Nance (Stefanie) of Jenks, OK, April J. Watkins (Michael) of Haslet, TX, Holly J. Ervin (Jacob) of Fort Worth, TX, Kourtney L. Nance of Villa Nueva, Guatemala, Kacey G. Knox (JP) of Houston, TX, Joseph M. Frana (Amy) of Oklahoma City, OK, Nichole B. Meinen (Brad) of Fort Worth, TX; great-grandchildren, Abigail, Eli, Autumn, Everett, and Taylor Knox, Hannah, Joshua, and John Luke Nance, Ryan, Ethan, and Logan Watkins, Zoe, Ezra and Cooper Meinen, Audrey, Jackson and Oliver Ervin, Preston and Madelyn Smith; as well as several nieces and nephews. A special thanks to the caregivers at Bethesda Gardens Assisted Living and Memory Care in Fort Worth for pouring your love and care into our mom these last 2 ½ years and to Thompson Funeral.