Memorial services for Nancy Bone Barron, 68, of Cornelia, are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Level Grove Baptist Church with the Rev. Terry Rice, Dr. Brian James, and the Rev. Lori Crowe Burgess officiating. Inurnment will follow in Yonah Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Walter Singletary officiating.
Mrs. Barron passed away Wednesday, March 23, 2022, after relentlessly battling systemic lupus for the past 30 years with her beloved family by her side.
Born Jan. 12, 1954, at Athens General Hospital, she was the only child of the late Robert Franklin Bone and Lois Nancy Seagraves Bone.
Nancy attended Demorest Elementary School, freshman and sophomore years at South Habersham High School, and junior and senior years at Habersham Central High School, graduating in 1972. During her freshman year, she met her lifetime love, a senior named Robert Barron. They were a couple from 1968 onward and married on June 23, 1972, a few weeks after Nancy's graduation. At her death on March 23, she was exactly three months from her and Robert's 50th wedding anniversary.
Beginning in high school, Nancy worked in the banking industry. When she and Robert welcomed their son Jeffrey, Nancy embraced her new role and became a full-time mom. Years later, Nancy managed the Storks Nest where she enjoyed talking to customers and helping them select the perfect outfit for their children. Nancy and Robert invested many years of their lives working with local and state Key Clubs. The Key Clubbers knew that if Mrs. Nancy told you to do something, it was in your best interest to do it quickly! Throughout those years, many teens called the Barron residence their second home. Nancy never met a stranger, because once she met you, she had made a new friend and you became family to her. She opened her home to anyone who needed a warm meal and a hug. When daughter, Anna arrived, Nancy spent many days at the dance studio. She accompanied Anna on clogging dance exhibitions all over the tri-state area. She never missed a chance to watch Jeff perform in the Band of Blue as together the family supported the Raiders. Her children were her priceless gifts, and she was so very proud of their accomplishments. Her grandchildren lovingly called her "Nana," and their happiness and success became her greatest desire. Nana was a great role model, an expert counselor, and she never failed to speak the truth, even when you didn't want to hear it!
She knew how to make everyone feel included and loved. Holidays and birthdays were meant to be celebrated extravagantly and with elaborate decorations. At Halloween, her home was the place to be as each year they provided candy for hundreds of children and a chili supper for friends who were too busy to cook before trick-or-treating. For several decades, she hosted a New Year’s Eve party that was the highlight of her friends' social calendars. Nana was an expert in growing beautiful flowers and plants. Friends often brought their ailing plants to Nancy's horticultural hospital where her green thumb brought them back to life.
She leaves behind a long list of family and friends whose lives she has touched. In spite of health challenges, Nancy's determination to live a normal life was an inspiration to everyone who encountered her. In her final months, even her medical transport team were recipients of her southern hospitality as she regularly greeted them with special snacks to enjoy on their drive to the hospital. Her quick wit, positive energy and vitality for life were her most endearing qualities. For those who loved her, 68 years was not enough time, but Nancy managed to pack a lot of living in those years. Though small in stature, she was big in life. In the different seasons of her life, she had been a member of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church, First Baptist Cornelia, and Level Grove Baptist Church. She loved life and she loved God. She was a fighter to the very end, and those who knew her were blessed to have known her strength and to have been recipients of her love.
Survivors include her loving husband, Robert Harold Barron of the home; son, Jeffery Robert Barron of Cornelia; daughter and son-in-law, Anna Lynn and Daniel Ferguson of Cornelia; grandchildren, Annalise Barron and fiancé, David Gonzalez, James Barron, Conley Barron, Cooper Ferguson, and Emma Lynn Ferguson; life-long friends, Donald and Kathy Crowe of Cornelia; goddaughter, Lori Burgess, wife of Jacob Burgess, their children, Aaron and Charlotte of Port Washington, New York and godson, Nathan Crowe and wife, Brittany of New York, New York; and loving neighbor, Haley Coursey of Cornelia.
The family will receive friends from 2 until 4 p.m. and 6 until 8 p.m. Friday, and from noon until the service hour Saturday at Level Grove Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers, monetary donations may be made to the Barron family to help cover medical expenses, to the Lupus Foundation of America, Georgia Chapter, 1850 Lake Park Drive, Suite 101, Smyrna, GA 30080, or to the Level Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 416, Cornelia, GA 30531.
Those in attendance are asked to please adhere to public health and social distancing guidelines regarding COVID-19.
An online guest register is available and may be viewed at mcgaheegriffinandstewart.com.
McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home of Cornelia is in charge of arrangements.