Nina E Dancey

Born March 1, 1919 in Pekin to Ivan Lee and Anna Elisa (Masso) Manker, she married Charles L. Dancey on December 10, 1944 at Grace United Methodist Church in Pekin. He survives.

Also surviving are two sons, Burt (Tina) Dancey of Orchard Mines and Clinton (Debbie) Dancey of Blacksburg, Virginia; daughter-in-law, Margaret Dancey of Silver Spring, Maryland; nine grandchildren, Zedford (Kyong) Dancey, Sarah Dancey, Silas (Kristen) Dancey, Rebekah Dancey, Amos (Mara) Dancey, Abigail Dancey, Elias (Bethany) Dancey, Emily Clark, and Ethan (Malissa) Dancey; granddaughter-in-law, Lia Dancey; and fourteen great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one son, Richard Dancey; one grandson, Jacob Dancey; and two sisters, Vanessa Wilken and Ruth Manker, in infancy.

One of Nina’s first jobs was working as a secretary to Angus B. Ferdinand in Peoria for many years.

She was a member of Peoria Players and was active in several plays. She worked on live television in the early years in this area…doing commercial work on WEEK in the 1950’s, and hosted a live program, “Women’s Journal” on Channel 19, during the same years, and later was co-host of a live hour long show with Wayne West, “Fun for All” on Channel 19. She worked for radio station WSIV in the 1960’s, and for years she enjoyed doing book reviews in this area. Nina and Chuck were involved in the staging of eight early Pekin Civic Chorus productions.

Nina was a member of the original board of Community Workshop and Training Center and served on the Board of Directors for the Dirksen Center. She was initiated into Chapter AS of P.E.O. Sisterhood in 1948, and was a charter member of Chapter LM in 1970.

She received the Junior Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service award in 1958, The Pekin Salvation Army “Others” award in 1981, the Pekin YWCA Outstanding Service Award for Community Service in 1990, the Pekin First Sunshine Award in 1999, and the Rotary Club of Pekin’s Barney Maticka Award in 2019. She and her husband were chosen as Grand Marshalls for the Pekin Marigold Festival in 1990.

Nina was a long-time member of the Pekin Union Mission, joining the board in 1975 and continued to serve for many years. She served as President for number of years. She attended Sunday school and was a member and sponsor of The Home Class, both at the Mission.

Nina was a devoted and faithful member of Grace United Methodist Church in Pekin for over 75 years. She was active in Grace Sunday school, teaching fifth grade for many years. She was a member of the United Methodist Women. She was co-host for eighteen years on Grace’s radio program, “Grace in the Morning”, and was the radio voice for Pekin Christian Civic Outreach for twenty years.

Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 21, 2019 at Grace United Methodist Church in Pekin. The Rev. Dr. Joel Catlin will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin and also from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Friday at the church. Burial will be at Glendale Memorial Gardens in Pekin.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Grace United Methodist Church, 601 North 4th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or to the Pekin Union Mission, Post Office Box 1027, Pekin, IL 61555-1027.

The Dancey family would like to thank our beloved, good-hearted helpers, who cared for her and Papa. They were “wonderful” as she would say. A “band of angels” as Papa would softly sing.

Nina’s life, her life’s focus – Throughout – was others – family, friends, and strangers. Till the day she left us – giving, offering, helping, loving – others – a heart open for all.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com