In Memory

Nancy Hayden Spain

Nancy Hayden Spain

On November 9, 2019, Nancy Hayden Spain passed away peacefully in the same house she was born in, just a few weeks shy of turning 83. The daughter of the late Elsie Hayden Watkins Spain and Richard Young Spain, Nancy was born at the Spain family homeplace, near Drewry in Warren County, NC. She grew up on the family's tobacco farm, but was never too keen on farming. She graduated as valedictorian of Middleburg High School and attended East Carolina University, earning a degree in the field of education. She moved to Virginia, where she spent most of her career serving as a librarian at Kecoughtan High School, part of Hampton City Schools. Nancy was a devoted and much-loved member of the school community.

Nancy loved her home on Buckroe Beach and all things beach or dolphin themed. She enjoyed a breathtaking view of the Chesapeake Bay from her home. She hosted many wild and wonderful beach parties with friends and generously opened her home to family and friends who wanted a beach get-away. Nancy had a beautiful singing voice and was apt to burst into song at a moment's notice. She had a ritual of calling her friends and family on their birthdays, to be the first to sing the happy birthday song to them. She was a life-long documentarian. The pictures of family and friends that she took and carefully organized captured daily life, holidays and celebrations of nearly three generations of her family. Nancy enjoyed traveling, visiting many places in the United States (often with nieces and nephews in tow) as well as places abroad including Switzerland, Germany, England and Italy.

Nancy will be greatly missed by her family and her network of life-long friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved sisters Amy Rose Spain Norwood and Anne Marie Spain, her nephew Stanley Carl Norwood, Jr and her niece Victoria Anne Norwood. Surviving members of her extended family include nephews Stephen Young Norwood (homeplace) and Michael Dean Norwood (Hillsborough), great-nephews and nieces Kenneth Michael Norwood (homeplace), Carla Norwood (homeplace), Amy Norwood Williamson (Henderson), Cynthia Roberson Bowen (Henderson), Chris Norwood (Raleigh), Chad Norwood (Greensboro), Maddie Norwood (Hillsborough), and Max Norwood (Hillsborough) along with numerous great-great nephews and nieces who all loved her dearly.

A funeral service for Nancy will be held on Friday, November 15, at Mt. Auburn Church of Christ in Manson, NC. Visitation will begin at 11am, followed by a formal service at noon and burial in the church cemetery. The family is planning a springtime celebration of Nancy's life at her home in Buckroe Beach, plans for that get together will be announced at a later date.

If you have any questions, please contact Carla at 252-456-3471.

Donations in Nancy's memory may be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (https://www.cbf.org/) or Book Harvest NC (https://bookharvestnc.org/).

Arrangements are by J.M. White Funeral Home of Henderson, NC.