Rev. Richard Nance, Jr.

Pacific Grove ~ Rev. Richard Nance, Jr. was the fifth of eight children born to Richard Nance Sr. and Sally Maronie Nance. At the age of twelve, he joined the White Plains Baptist Church in Laurens, SC.

On January 15, 1943, he reported to Ft. Bragg for active duty in the Army. He served as a telephone and telegraph lineman with the 448th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion.

Rev. Nance was licensed to preach in November 1945. In 1946, he returned to the 11th grade in high school graduating the following year. Rev. Nance was ordained in 1949 and pastored three rural churches in Laurens and Spartenburg Counties in South Carolina. He received his BA from Benedict College, Columbia, SC in May 1950. In May 1953, he received his BA of Divinity and, in May 1956, earned a Masters from Berkeley Baptist Divinity School.

Rev. Nance accepted the call to serve as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pacific Grove in June 1956 and remained there until 1992. He served as interim pastor of Antioch Baptist Church of San Jose and the First Baptist Church of Pacific Grove from which he officially retired in December 2009.

Rev. Nance served on the board of the Managers of American Baptist Churches of the West (ABC), President of the Monterey Branch of the NAACP (of which he was a Golden Life Member), President of both the Pacific Grove and Monterey Peninsula Ministers Associations and the Board of Directors of the Pacific Grove Kiwanis. Additionally, he served on the board of Directors of the Monterey County Children’s Home Society, the Board of Directors of Alliance on Aging, the Pacific Grove Library Board, the board of the Monterey Bay Council, Inc. of the Boy Scouts of America, the Pacific Grove Police Review

Board and was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

Rev. Nance is survived by his children, Christopher of Porterville, CA, Marcus of Toronto, Canada, Karen Small of Tacoma, WA and Gregory of Atlanta, GA; his sisters, Emma Martin of Laurens, SC and Jennie V. Goode of Mauldin, SC and his grandchildren, Amanda, James, Moria, David and Jonathan Small. In 1990, he was preceded in death by his wife of 33 years, Esther Collins Nance.

Visitation will take place at The Paul Mortuary Chapel this Tuesday, September 6 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. Funeral Services will be at the First Baptist Church of Pacific Grove the following day, Wednesday, September 7 at 1:00 PM followed by burial at El Carmelo Cemetery.