Yvonne Garwood Nance

Yvonne lived a remarkable life surrounded by her adoring family and multitude of friends. She spent her childhood in San Antonio and Laredo, Texas. She graduated from Alamo Heights High School and went on to study fashion design at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri and afterwards received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Yvonne formed a free spirit early in life. She was a dancer, gymnast, and pianist. Her dancing skills as a youngster were most notably on display at the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo where her grandfather would lift her up to tap dance on top of the bar to entertain patrons. Her dancing led to the discovery of a weak bone in her leg that landed her in the hospital for multiple years and operations; and eventually a vitallium plate placed in her femur by renown surgeon Dr. Charles Venable. The first-of-its-kind procedure was featured in surgery textbooks and national magazines.

Her surgeries did not slow her. As a teenager, she spent summers at Camp Waldemar riding horses and learning lifesaving in the Guadalupe river. She earned her pilot’s license in college to become one of the few female pilots at the time. After college she married Dwight Nance and moved to Smithville, Texas, where she embraced small-town life and became an artist and homemaker. She raised five children and delighted in two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Yvonne lived her life exuding unconditional love, kindness, adventure, and laughter. She was a patriotic American, faithful Christian, talented painter and lover of music, especially jazz. She reveled in travel, parties, baseball, the SMU mustangs, family gatherings, black and white movies and her time spent as manager and buyer for Apple Annies in Austin, Texas.

She is survived by sons Dwight Jefferson (Jeff) Nance Jr. of Eugene OR, Scott Parker Nance of Austin, Todd Parker Nance of Austin, daughter Love Yvonne Nance of Austin and daughters-in-law Christy Nance and Sevgi Nance of Austin. Grandchildren Christiane Jagger Nance of Los Angeles, CA, Adam Domecq Sebastian Nance of New Braunfels and great grandchildren Violet Love Nance and Oscar Jack Nance of Austin.

She was preceded in death by her husband Dwight Jefferson Nance, son David Guarjardo Nance, son-in-law Steven Hodges, daughter-in-law Deborah Nance, sisters Billie Lee (Chickie) Sellers and Cissy Garwood and brother Roy (Sonny) Garwood Jr., parents Mary Pearl and Roy Garwood Sr. and grandparents Pauline and Harry Fansler.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to your favorite children’s or Christian charity.