John Irvin Nance
May 11, 1934 – November 8, 2026
On May 11, 1934, Wilson Earl and Bertha Marie (Kint) Nance gave birth to their fifth child and gave him the name John Irvin Nance. While growing up near Shawnee, Oklahoma, John would catch rabbits for both food and income for the family – fifty cents a pelt. His favorite childhood memory was going out into the beauty of nature with his dog Skipper.
After following his brother Earl to Oklahoma A&M (Now OSU), John decided to go to Alaska as a Baptist missionary for one semester. Once there, he started a church and stayed as pastor for two years.
John returned to continue his studies by transferring to Oklahoma Baptist University. His brother Paul and his sisters Mary, Phyllis, and Hope were on campus to tell him about a student he just had to meet. John was twenty-two and Mary Winfred (Moore) was 20 when they married.
Their marriage lasted 70 years. They had two children. Son Matthew married Cheryl, giving John and Mary two grandsons. Grandson Joshua married Erin, who gave them greatgrandchildren Talyor, Adelyn, and Everrett. Grandson Jonathan married Samantha. Daughter Elizabeth married Dennis, giving John and Mary five grandchildren – grandson Jay, who married Kaitlyn, granddaughters Megan and Rebecca, and grandsons Timothy and Nathan.
John had an ability to get others working hard together yet having fun at the same time. He enjoyed tennis, photography, and genealogy.
As newlyweds, John and Mary pastored churches in Missouri and North Carolina, then took their young children to Indonesia, where they served as missionaries. On returning to the U.S. four years later, John became a university student minister at East Texas Baptist College. The Nances lived in Marshall, Texas from 1968 to 1977, when John became the Minnesota-Wisconsin Coordinator of University Student Ministry.
John recalls the most enjoyable season of ministry was serving together with Mary in caring for Hmong refugees in Minnesota. They would strap donated mattresses on top of their car and take them to the refugees, who would otherwise be sleeping on the floor. Mary taught them English while John led them to faith in Christ and helped them start a new church for refugees.
Moving even further north to Calgary, Alberta Canada, John became the coordinator of Canadian University Student Ministry. For decades, Mary’s health remained a challenge since the early days of living overseas. John reacted by grocery shopping and cooking for the family while somehow managing to be very fully engaged in student ministry. From her bed, Mary became the cheerleader for her children’s progress. Mary eventually started being active. John’s proudest moment was when his wife Mary received her earned doctorate at age 65.
John and Mary almost settled down to fully retire in Colorado, only to spend three years serving in Japan. Then they returned to live in the Southeast U.S. On November 7 while eating supper, John was mercifully taken swiftly home to heaven. At 92, John outlived all his siblings.
Visitation is this Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. at Pine Hill Baptist Church, Cairo, GA. Memorial Service is at 11:00 a.m. with lunch to follow. After the Lord has Mary join John in heaven, there will be a graveside service for them both in Stillwater, OK.
