Nance, Marian Armenta (Ampey)

Marian Armenta (Ampey) Nance, formerly from Cedar Rapids, passed Thursday, June 30, 2011, at the Golden Age Living Center in Bloomington, Minn. Visitation: 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16, followed by funeral services at 11 a.m. at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids. The Rev. Damian Epps will officiate at both the memorial and funeral services. Burial will occur at Oak Hill Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, next to her late son, Donald Douglas Nance.

Marian, born Aug. 16, 1922, in Buxton, Iowa, was one of 13 children born to David A.G. Ampey and Armenta (Tobin) Ampey. Her stepmother was Naomi (Tobin) Ampey. One of the children, Norma (Ampey) Armstrong, resides in Richmond, Calif.

Marian had four children: Vergeous Gillam, South Bend, Ind.; Michelle Burroughs, Madison, N.J.; Sidney James Nance, Bloomington, Minn.; and the late Donald Douglas Nance.

Marian graduated from high school in Cedar Rapids in the early 1940s. She enrolled in Wilberforce University and graduated from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, in 1965, with two bachelor of science degrees in home economics and elementary education. She received her master's degree in counseling from Ball State University while teaching in Germany in the 1980s. Marian attended many governmental trainings in Spain and Germany.

Marian was a dedicated and honored teacher who taught in New Jersey for six years and then was an elementary education specialist for the Department of Defense in Spain, Germany, Turkey, Korea, and Cuba. She retired in Cedar Rapids, where it is believed she was the first African-American to graduate from the Cedar Rapids schools and retire as an African-American teacher.

Marian was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and was nominated to be inducted into the Iowa African-American Hall of Fame. She has countless other honors and awards.

She is survived by countless numbers of nieces and nephews residing in the Cedar Rapids area.

Remembering Our Mom

Her laugh, her smile, her voice, her style

Her strength, her poise, her gifts, her joys,

Her words, her grace, her eyes, her face,

Her love, her life

and everything that made our Mom special,

Will live on in us through thoughts and memories.