Nancy Raisch Stephens

Nancy is survived by her husband of 60 years, Dr. Charles Anthon Stephens; her five "wunnerful" children Debbie Stephens, Claudia Stephens and her husband Matt Tomlanovich, Charles Stephens and his wife, Kathleen, Barbara Stephens and her wife, Jayne Iafrate, and Jerry Stephens and his wife, Ana; seven "rascally"grandchildren; two "cutie pie" great-grandchildren, and her sister Barbara Long. She was predeceased by her parents, Elias Jeremiah and Willie Lee Raisch and her brother, Jeremiah Jackson Raisch.

Born in Houston on Oct. 1, 1928, Nancy graduated from Austin High School and studied music at The University of Texas. She met her husband, Charles, on a blind date, and then waited six years to marry him after he completed medical school—a point she liked to remind him of frequently. They lived in Odessa for 56 years.

She was an active member of three Episcopal churches: St. David's in Austin, and St. John's and St. Barnabas in Odessa. She "managed her children" on the front pew with a raised eyebrow and a squeeze on their thighs. To this day, they all have a healthy fear of turning around and staring at the choir in the back of a church. She co-chaired several wedding committees, and there was a belief that church attendance rose on the Sundays when Nancy was in charge of "coffee hour."

Her children were extremely precious to her, and she was active in all of their lives: a den mother to both sons, active participant in Permian Basin Mental Health and Mental Retardation, driver to ballet and music lessons, and chaperone with her husband of several high school orchestra, band and choir trips. She passed to her children and grandchildren a love of movies, music and books. It was a common occurrence to find Nancy belting out opera arias in the house and a day didn't go by that Nancy didn't have a book in her hand and many hand-made bookmarks sticking out of the book every twenty pages. She famously said: "I'm spending all my children's inheritance on books."

Her children fondly recall travelling across the United States and Canada in a 1969 Airstream. She sat in the passenger side of a gold Suburban with a large paper sack full of magazines, books, cards, and snacks that she doled out with a precise skill and timing to occupy the children for thousands of miles. Charles and Nancy later switched to motor homes and completed 30 years of "RVing."

Nancy was also a loyal and caring friend. Her friends remember her sense of humor, flirtatious manner, and outright boldness. Her loyalty, in particular, ran deep with her friends, and she maintained many long-time friends from grade school on.

When Charles was going to marry Nancy, her own mother said, "We love our little Nancy, but she's incorrigible." And there's no denying that she left this world in the same manner.

A burial service will be held at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery in Pflugerville for family and friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Nancy's name to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Odessa or Special Olympics Texas. A memorial service will be held in Odessa at a later date.