Nancy Jane Oliver

Nancy J. (Davis) Oliver, age 87 of Mio, Michigan, passed away at her home on Monday, November 1, 2021.
Nancy was born in Dresden, Tennessee on September 30, 1934 to Charles and Rosalie (Fowler) Davis. After high school, she went to Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee for two years, then to Lipscomb in Nashville for two years. She graduated in June of 1956 with a BA degree with a major in education and minors in English and physical education. In August of 1956, Nancy went to Grand Rapids, Michigan to teach in the Godwin Heights School System. That fall, she met her husband-to-be, Don Oliver. They were married at the Dresden Church of Christ in August of 1957. The couple moved to a small tourist town in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. They made their home in Mio, Michigan where Nancy taught English and P.E. at the Mio AuSable School, and Don, with a partner, went into the insurance business at the Kirtland Agency. Their daughter Terri was born in 1960, and their son Steven in 1969. Nancy took time off from teaching to be a mom. She taught school for seventeen years before she retired. After retiring, Nancy spent eight years on the Mio AuSable School Board. This turned out to be a very enlightening experience. Nancy enjoyed hobbies such as sewing, ceramics, bowling, golf, playing bridge, etc. She also had taught Sunday School, Ladies’ Bible Class, and participated in all areas of Church work. Nancy and Don did a lot of traveling over the years with trips to Tennessee for Christmas holidays for 28 years and to other parts of the U.S. They also made two trips to Europe during their 40 years together. Nancy always believed the most important and rewarding things she had done in her past were being a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She felt the lowest point in her life was in 1996 when she became a widow. It was a painful and a very difficult adjustment for the rest of her life. She said that we have all heard of Southern hospitality, and as great as it is, she found that Northern hospitality was just as wonderful in her case; from her first arrival in Michigan throughout her entire life. Nancy always said that when her life was over, she would wish that she had made her corner of the world a better place for those who follow.
Nancy is survived by her children: Steve (Marla) Oliver and Terri Oliver; her grandchildren: Haley (Chad), Wade, Amelia, and Seth; her great-grandchildren: Kyler, Summer, Lyla, Raelynn, and Jesse; and her brother Larry Davis. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Donald L. Oliver, and her brother Gary Davis.
Visitation on Friday, November 5, 2021 from 12 Noon – 1 PM at the Lashley Funeral Home, Mio, MI, with Funeral Services at 1 PM with Mr. Frank Beek officiating. Interment will follow the services at Mentor Township Cemetery, Mio, Michigan.

Memorial Contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Arrangements by Lashley Funeral Home, Mio, MI.