Marvell Mae Nance

Emerging from the Depression, Jack and Ima Jackson moved their family to farm on an Indian lease west of Carnegie, Oklahoma. Their second child, named Marvell, was a dark-haired beauty who attended Mount View School and played the clarinet in her school band. She helped with family chores, which included picking cotton. While working in the cotton fields she dreamed of a time when she would one day ride past them in an air-conditioned car.

As a teenaged girl, she enjoyed hanging out with her friends at Dirty Shame on Main Street, watching the boys watch the girls. Little did she know that a handsome young man named LaVern would one day be her husband. He worked hard to get her attention, racing by in his souped-up Chevy Coupe. Soon, her life's adventure started, and LaVern and Marvell were married on June 6, 1943.

Their life together began by moving to the big city of Wichita, Kansas. Their first small apartment was located on Douglas Avenue. Young and in love, Marvell would walk down Douglas to meet LaVern, who was working shift work at Associated. They would walk a little further to attend a midnight movie at the Orpheum Theater.

They started their family, and soon after, a career in their own business. With high hopes, Nance Machine and Paint Company was born.

Working hard as a supportive wife in the business while balancing babies on her hip all the while had to have been overwhelming at times for a small-town farm girl. More children came, and LaVern's love for car racing birthed a new business called Nance Speed Equipment. Mom had dreamed of someday traveling, but little did she know she would be criss-crossing the United States in the cab of LaVern's pickup truck with a race car in tow, handing out catalogs. Hard work and determination propelled them to many championships which led to success in the racing industry.

As LaVern's sidekick, Marvell was a fast learner and could converse with the most seasoned racer about the intricacies of racing. She turned out to be LaVern's number one salesman! Marvell was also an entrepreneur in her own right, complementing Nance Speed Equipment by starting her own successful silk screen tee-shirt business. As the years clicked by, her hands showed the journey of hard work.

In her spare time, Marvell sewed racing seat belts and shoulder harnesses, leather purses, canned produce from her garden, and hosted family dinners on Sundays. Even with her busy schedule, she always had time to set another plate at the table for a racer passing through town. Most importantly, she always had time to listen to her children and friends when they needed her. She was a good example of how to be a great mentor for her children and grandchildren.

Marvell was well versed on many subjects and always taught that you can never learn enough, and that you should never, give up. She would always say, "Learn everything you can, because no one can take it away from you. BUT, it's not always best to know how to do EVERYTHING!!" Good advice from our tired momma!

Entering her retirement years, Marvell became her children's hero by lovingly and faithfully caring for our father for 10 years after his debilitating stroke. It never entered her mind to do anything other than that. Proof of a sixty-year love. We saw her energy dwindle after dad's death, but determined as always, she continued to play the piano, till her vegetable garden, and rise award-winning roses.

As the years continued, her body grew increasingly tired, and we noticed some changes in her once-sharp mind. Although she hid it well, her dementia continued to progress. However, even on the cloudiest days, we could look into her eyes and remember the mother that she was.

Looking back, we feel blessed that the little farm girl from Oklahoma was our mother, and she was the BEST!

Nance, Marvell Mae, 90, passed away February 5, 2017. She was born September 1, 1926 in Tipton, Oklahoma, the daughter of the late Jack and Liddy (Hayes) Jackson. On June 6, 1943 she was joined in marriage to Lavern Nance (deceased). They had 5 children, Carol Nance of Wichita, KS (deceased), Allen Nance of Wichita, KS, Charlotte (Diefenbach) Miller of Wichita, KS (deceased), Dianne Herman of Eureka Springs, AR, Sharon Stang of Wichita, KS, also many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Lavern and Marvell started a local business called Nance Machine & Paint Co. doing aircraft contracts, which evolved into Nance Speed Equipment manufacturing race cars and component parts. Marvell was also a great wife, mother, grandmother, business partner with our father and a friend to all. Memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm Saturday, February 11, 2017 at Resthaven Mortuary, 11800 W. Hwy 54, Wichita, KS. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Circle of Life Hospice, 901 Jones Rd., Springdale, AR 72762.