Nancy Ellen Mercier

Nancy was born Janice Elaine Moore in Youngstown, Ohio in 1933. Her mother Dorothy did not survive a tragic auto accident in 1935, while her father, Charles, was gravely injured. She was then adopted by Rev. Edgar and Mrs. Edith Walker and raised with their son David. After the 1963 passing of her adoptive parents, she reunited with her birth father and siblings. They were a great source of joy through the remainder of her life. She and Donna Masters found a sister in the middle of life for the first time.

Nancy graduated from McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio in 1951, and the subsequent year attended Maryville College in Tennessee. On June 12, 1954 she married Arden Ralph Mercier in Canton, Ohio. She and Arden were married for 54 years until his death in 2008. They lived in several small Ohio towns where Arden served as an E.U.B. pastor before establishing their home in Huntington in 1972.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Miami University of Ohio and a Master’s degree from IPFW. She taught elementary grades in several Ohio schools before serving at Horace Mann School in Huntington for 25 years. She inspired her husband to become the first college graduate in his family and all three of her children to complete college degrees.

She and Arden had three sons - Andy (Julie) of Portland, Oregon, Phil (Cheryl) of Ft. Wayne and David (deceased) of Greenville, S. Carolina. There are seven grandchildren Abbey (Brent) Davidson, Rochelle (Derex) Jackson, Claire Mercier, Renee (Nathan) Day, Michael Mercier, Jess Mercier, and Kris Mercier. She had six great-grandchildren: Harper Davidson, Parks Davidson, Quinton Jackson, Jude Jackson, Henry Day and Lyla Day. Her love and attention to all of them was the defining focus of her life and a strong foundation for theirs. She endures in their memories.

Nancy was a long-time member of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntington where she enjoyed sewing with other members for mission work in Haiti and elsewhere. She created many quilts for friends and family over the years. Several years after the passing of Arden she and Ken Dowden of Huntington became great friends, and Kenny became part of her extended family.

Visitation with the family will be held April 6 from 10am-12pm at D.O. McComb & Sons Funeral Homes - Covington Knolls, 8325 Covington Road in Fort Wayne (46804). Graveside services will be held at 4pm in Huntington at the Mount Hope Cemetery, where her remains will be laid to rest next to her husband Arden.