Nancy Jean Chafin

Nancy Jean (Nelson) Chafin, who firmly believed in angels, received her wings on September 30, 2022. After surviving two types of cancer, it was Parkinson’s disease that took her life. Nancy is survived by her daughters, Amy Williams, Cathy Young (Tom), and Kelley Price (George), her 8 grandchildren, Trevor Williams, Joshua Price, Taylor Williams, Cathy Volker (Ryan), Garry Price (Ulla) and Kelly Price and 6 great-grandchildren, Lillian, Felicity, Nola, Arik, Sam and Charlie. Nancy was predeceased by her mother, Marjorie Louise Nichols. Born in Grand Junction, Colorado, on April 10, 1937, Nancy spent most of her childhood on the move. Her father was a supervising lineman for the establishment of the U.S. Electric Grid. This took the family to a new place every three months. By the age of 11 she had lived in almost all the contiguous United States. It was then she went to live with her maternal grandparents in Duncan, Arizona, and completed her education there. As one of three majorettes at Duncan High School, Nancy developed what would become life-long friendships with the other two. At the age of 18, Nancy was first runner-up in the Greenlee County Beauty Contest. But she wasn’t just a pretty face… Shortly after high school, Nancy married Lynn Chafin and spent the next many years being a homemaker and raising their three daughters. When her daughters were young, she made all their clothes and created exceptional Halloween costumes! Nancy taught all 3 girls to cook and sew. Nancy’s civic engagement evolved throughout her life. She was a school room mother, was named New Port Richey Jaycee Wife of the Year in 1970, received the Spark Award at Brigham Academy in 2003, served as President of the PCEOP, and volunteered for the American Cancer Society and Life Choice Pregnancy Center. After retirement, Nancy even served on a Federal Grand Jury. She also gained a reputation for writing letters to the editor of The Winter Haven News Chief! In her 32 years at Brigham Academy, Nancy worked as the personal secretary for five principals. She was known for her ability to deal with unhappy parents, for remembering all the students’ names, and for her not so secret “secret candy stash”. She saw the children and grandchildren of former students become students at Brigham. Even after she retired, it wasn’t uncommon for former Brigham Bears to greet her with an enthusiastic, “Hi Miss Nancy!” She was an avid reader, mostly of crime novels. And it wasn’t unusual for her to read an entire book in one day. She also was a long-time collector of angels and her extensive collection has even been on display at the Winter Haven Public Library. Through the years, Nancy became a surrogate mother to those who had lost their own mother. There are many who claim Nancy as their second Mom and she happily claimed them all as her kids! She taught many of those extra kids in Sunday School and as a church youth counselor. And if she knew your birth date then you likely received a card from her every year! Nancy bravely endured treatments first for breast cancer and then colon cancer. But even after 21 chemotherapy treatments, she was still bringing candy for the nurses. Not long after conquering colon cancer Nancy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Despite these medical challenges she enjoyed taking many ‘mother-daughter’ trips with her girls, who were the light of her life! Nancy was a loving, thoughtful, nurturing, always giving person who will be missed by many and especially by everyone she called family. A celebration of Nancy's life will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, November 26, 2022 at St. John's United Methodist Church-Christian Life Center, 1800 Cypress Gardens Blvd. Winter Haven, FL. Todd Wahlquist with Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2192, www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the Chafin family with their arrangements.

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Nancy Jean Chafin

April 10, 1937 - September 30, 2022