Nancy Grace (Wilson) Ward, 76, of Rockwell, passed away Saturday, April 24, 2021, at MercyOne North Iowa Hospice in Mason City.
Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 28, 2021, at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Rockwell, 502 2nd St. S., Rockwell, with Rev. Lester Ward officiating. Burial will be at Pleasant Valley Township Cemetery in Swaledale.
Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 3rd St. NE, Mason City.
Nancy was born in Ventura Iowa, the third of five girls, to George and Dorothy (Greiman) Wilson. They soon moved to a farm by Swaledale, and later moved into town next door to her best friend, Nancy Pat and her brother, Dennis, who became Nancy Grace’s future husband. She was creative, intelligent, shy, athletic and beautiful. She graduated from Rockwell-Swaledale High School in 1962. On June 10, 1962, she married Dennis Wayne Ward at St. Peter Lutheran Church. Together, they had three children – Brenda, Connie and Daniel. She was a stay-at-home mother until the kids entered school. She made life fun with endless games, crafts and puzzles. In 1971, they moved to their current home in Rockwell. She went to work for AMF Scamper. After the plant closed, she accepted the position of elementary secretary at Rockwell-Swaledale CSD, and after ten years, she switched to Jr. High/High School secretary. She was employed at the school for 29 years. She was generous, kind and soft hearted. If you came home from school with a needed coat or mittens, you could bet that Nancy bought them. She always, always put others needs above her own. Nancy was humble, quiet and lived her life with grace. She was the person you called if you were happy about something and she was the person you called if you were sad. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren meant the world to her and they all knew it. If you were lucky enough to be loved by her, you had a blessed life. After fighting Multiple Myeloma for 20 years, she succumbed to a different cancer, Myelodysplastic Syndrome.
Nancy is survived by her daughters Brenda Campbell (Mark) and Connie Brown (Darrell), her son, Daniel Ward, grandchildren Derek Brown (Tessa), Craig Brown (Kayla), Grace Campbell, David Campbell, Danielle Ward and Levi (Jack) Ward, bonus grandchildren Zach and Samantha Palmer and great grandchildren Gavin, Dax, Harper, Warren, Ace, Khari and Palmer Brown. She is also survived by siblings Linda Wilson and Beth Milbrandt (Dennis) and in-laws Richard Ward (Bernadette), Lester “Pete” Ward (Lora), Opal Brass (Don), Timothy Ward (Shirley) and Alan Formanek (Patty) and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Dennis, her parents, siblings Barbara Formanek and Janet Arndt (Robert), in-laws Nancy Thompson (Steve), Christopher Ward (Barb), and parents-in-law Harvey and Charity Marie Ward.
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