Mrs. Nancy Blatt Sykes

COLUMBIA - A funeral service for Nancy Blatt Sykes will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, February 14, 2016, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, with private burial in Greenlawn Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7:00 p.m. Saturday, February 13, 2016, at the funeral home. Nancy passed into the Lord’s care at age 74 on February 9, 2016. She was a wonderful and loving mother, wife and grandmother. The daughter of the late Israel Edward Blatt and Caroline Ropp Blatt, Nancy was born on December 4, 1941 in Columbia. She graduated from Dreher High School in 1959. In 1963, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina, where she later earned her Master’s degree. Nancy was a dedicated member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She was a caring and gifted teacher at Bradley Elementary School for five years. She taught third grade and tutored students with reading disabilities. Nancy was a member of Rosewood Baptist Church. Nancy is survived by her husband of 54 years, Gene Carlton Sykes of Columbia; daughter, Caroline Sykes McElveen (James) of West Columbia; son, James “Eddie” Edward Sykes of Columbia; granddaughter, Michaela Ashley McElveen of West Columbia; and mother-in-law, Elizabeth S. Sykes of Columbia.