Nancy Linda Lea Vance

Nancy Linda Lea Vance, 95, of Mansfield, TX, passed peacefully on December 23, 2023. 

Nancy was the youngest of four daughters of Eugene and Hazel (Ward) Lea of Fort Worth.  She was born in 1928 at the beginning of the depression, and like many, the family struggled financially.   She walked and took multiple buses to school, worked for tuition, graduating from Texas Christian University with a degree in Spanish and a teaching certificate.  At TCU she met Claud M Vance Jr. to whom she was married 36 years until his death in 1986.  They resided in Fort Worth, where Claud was a beloved school principal for FWISD.  Nancy stayed home, lovingly caring for their three children, and a Collie named Ginger, until the kids were all attending school whereupon she resumed teaching, completing 18 years of service at FWISD.  Nancy also taught Sunday School at the United Methodist Church.  In 1972, the family moved to Claud’s family farm property near Rendon, TX.  Building the new house was a multi-year family project with everyone, including Nancy, doing their part.

In retirement, Nancy gave her time to the arts, social, and political activities, travel, and her grandchildren.  For 25 years Nancy was a coordinator for Art in the Metroplex, a juried art show featuring local Fort Worth artists.  Art in the Metroplex was co-founded by her artist sister, Beth Clardy.  Nancy was a docent at the FW Museum of Modern Art, traveling nationally and internationally with that group.  She was a member of the Pan American Round Table, a non-profit women’s organization, with whom she also traveled.  She was a local delegate in the 1988 presidential campaign.  Nancy especially loved her children and grandchildren: making holidays special and arranging one-on-one outings.  She was generous to a fault.  In her later years she drew much comfort from her Christian faith, filling her diaries with prayers and Bible verses that spoke to her.

Nancy is preceded in death by her husband, Claud Morton Vance Jr; and her sisters, Beth, Irma, and Ruth.  She is survived by her 3 children, Claud Eugene Vance, Sharon Lea Tabor, and Robert Clifton Vance; her 5 grandchildren, Andrea Burson, Amanda Boettger, Anthony Vance, Nicholas Vance, and Cara Vance; and her 8 great grandchildren.

The visitation is on Saturday, January 6, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm, at Emerald Hills Funeral Home. The funeral service will immediately follow at 2:00pm. The Burial will immediately follow the funeral service at Emerald Hills Memorial Park.