Nancy was born in McKenzie, Tennessee on Dec. 31, 1932, to Alvin and Laverne Dinkins. She attended McKenzie schools and graduated from McKenzie High School in 1950. Nancy graduated from Bethel College in McKenzie, where she met James Cantrell of Palmersville, Tennessee. They married in 1954. Nancy and Jim, with their growing family, lived in Oxford, Mississippi and Knoxville, Tennessee, while Jim attended graduate school, settling in Athens in 1962, where he taught mathematics at the University of Georgia. The family also spent one year in Princeton, New Jersey. For many years, Nancy managed Cantrell’s Country Corner at the Athens Flea Market, where the Cantrells displayed and traded countless fascinating rural antiques.
Nancy’s warm and welcoming spirit were evident throughout her life, as was her love of music. Her hospitality and friendship nurtured communities of friends, including her “adopted” family at Sparky’s Seafood Restaurant, the Flea Market, the University of Georgia mathematics department and St. James United Methodist Church, where she was a member.
Nancy was predeceased by her parents, Alvin and Laverne Dinkins of McKenzie, Tennessee, and by two daughters, Karen Evelyn and Susan Elizabeth, who died in infancy. She is survived by her husband, James Cecil Cantrell, Cathryn and Christopher Potter of Bound Brook, New Jersey, Timothy Cantrell of Athens, Michael and Olga Cantrell of St. Petersburg, Russia; four granddaughters, Elizabeth Potter, Laura Potter, Kate Potter Leary and Valerie Cantrell; and one great-granddaughter, Anne Fitzgibbons.
Services will be held on Tuesday, May 26 at 2:00 pm at St. James United Methodist Church in Athens. Visiting hours are Monday, May 25, 6:00-8:00 pm at Bernstein Funeral Home in Athens. Graveside services, Thursday, May 28, at 2:00 pm at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in McKenzie, Tennessee. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to St. James United Methodist Church Missions, 111 West Lake Dr., Athens, Georgia 30606.
On line condolences may be made at www.bernsteinfuneralhome.com.
Bernstein Funeral Home and Cremation Service are in charge of arrangements.
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