On November 30th, 2021, Nancy Ella Miller Lawrence went home to be with Jesus. She was preceded in death by her husband Clyde Elmore Lawrence Jr. Nancy was born in Miami, Fl on March 16th 1938 and graduated from Miami Edison Senior High School and then attended Mars Hill College, Class of 1958. She was preceded in death by her parents Chester Miller and Ruth Barfield Miller, brother Chuck Miller, and great nephew Dylan Page. She is survived and lovingly remembered by her son Neil (Jennifer) & Joshua Lawrence, her daughter Aimee Flynn, her daughter Carrie Lee & (Will) Camille, Maya & Ella Hoffman. Her Nephew Danny & (Jennifer) Jada & Bryce Miller and her Niece Debbie (Mike) Nick & Jake Page.

Nancy loved the theater. She attended plays regularly at the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater (SART) where she ushered for many years, and she was a season ticket holder at the Peace Center in Greeneville, S.C. She loved going to plays with her daughter Aimee. She was an avid sports fan and very competitive. If she wasn't watching college football, baseball, and basketball, she was watching tennis, or complaining that her beloved Duke "never get any calls in their favor." She was an excellent cook. She dazzled guests and family members with her culinary creations, but none were better than her special Christmas Goodies that left everyone asking, year after year: "how did she do that?" Her many gifts included gardening. She was a master gardener, and she surrounded her house with contemplative walking paths lined with beautiful and colorful plants, and her woods are filled with ferns, vines, shrubs, and wildflowers that she planted and nurtured. There is little doubt that her spiritual life was given expression through her beautiful gardens. "He has made everything beautiful in His time." Eccl. 3:11

Nancy loved everything about Mars Hill and the enduring friendships that she developed through the years. She attended Mars Hill College back in the days when there was a Boys Hill, and a Girls Hill and students were not allowed to hold hands on campus. She loved that simpler time, rooted in Christian values and the days of Daddy Blackwell. After graduating from Mars Hill College, and returning home to Florida, she remained connected to the scenic beauty and the treasures of western North Carolina. She would continually bring her family back to the mountains every year for vacations filled with camping, hiking, swimming in cool rivers and teaching her kids to look deeply into nature to heal, recharge and discover the relationship between nature and God. To her, there was nothing complex about this relationship. She modeled for her family, her entire life, this simple connection by taking care of her plants, her birds, and her deer. Even the squirrels would gently crawl up her legs to get to the peanuts she was offering. Nancy would eventually bring her family back to Mars Hill in 1989 and she never looked back.

Nancy loved to attend her church and she was devoted to her Sunday School family at Mars Hill Baptist Church. She volunteered at the Mars Hill College Bookstore, she was a reading tutor at Mars Hill Elementary School, and she regularly attended and lead Elderhostel learning experiences at Mars Hill College. She had strong relationships with Pastor Tommy Justus, the Harell's, Ann Lee, Ann Toney, and many more church friends. But her loving spirit was also on the lookout for those who had no one else, who were sitting alone at church, who needed a place to go for Thanksgiving dinner. She was always a friend to them.

Her family was her life. She poured her heart and soul into her husband, children, and grandchildren. They were everything to her and, as Carrie Lee said, "she was our North Star." She was always there for them. During the holidays, birthdays, ballgames, trips to the theater and Sunday mornings at church. Her son, Neil, a missionary in Kenya for 30 years said when he heard of her passing "she is the best Christian I have ever known." As a loving wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and Christian, that is how she will be remembered.

Nancy met her husband Clyde Lawrence while he was working for the IRS and she was working for Florida Power and Light (FPL). After dating for 6 months, they married on the December 30, 1963 at the age of 29 and 24 respectively. Their faithfulness in marriage was a testimony to many. Clyde and Nancy were also faithful members of Wayside Baptist Church in South Miami where they raised their family. Nancy Miller Lawrence and Clyde Elmore Lawrence will have a joint memorial service at Mars Hill Baptist Church on Thursday, December 30 at 2:00 PM. The date of their 60th wedding anniversary. The family will receive visitors beginning at 12:00.

In lieu of flowers the family has requested donations to be made to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church Pastors Fund, PO Box 565, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more." Jane Austen