Nancy McGrath will be remembered as a beautiful optimist. She viewed this world through eyes that only saw its blessings, and even through life’s many challenges, she was eternally grateful for her biggest blessings – family and friends that she loved dearly.
Nancy passed away on March 28, 2021 at 72 years of age and is preceded in death by her beloved son, Douglas Timothy McGrath. She is survived by her daughter Marcy Plourde (Greg) of The Woodlands, TX; son Timothy McGrath (Cassandra) of Cypress, Texas; son Pierce McGrath (Alison) of Fulshear, TX; daughter-in-law Shawna McGrath and ex-husband Timothy McGrath of Kingwood, TX; and, very close to her heart are her 12 grandchildren: Owen Plourde, Wyatt Plourde, Quincy Plourde, Gray McGrath, Ty McGrath, Kyle McGrath, Zane McGrath, Gracia McGrath, Myles Moses, Morgan Moses, Meyer McGrath, and Wright McGrath. Nancy dearly loved her closest friends who were more like sisters - Ellie Graham, Linda Lindeman and Norma Munoz – they held a very special place in her heart.
Nancy Lou Middlewood started her life as an only child on February 13, 1949, born to parents Helen McRobbie and Homer Middlewood in Detroit, Michigan. Nancy was raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan and graduated from North Farmington High School in 1966. She had fond memories of her classmates, serving as Class Treasurer, and dreaming of becoming a fashion buyer.
In her early twenties, her love of fashion and striking beauty made her stand out to both her future husband, Timothy, and his family… a large and gregarious family of 9 kids who welcomed her with open arms. Nancy was forever grateful to join McGrath family, gaining sisters, brothers, and her loving second Mom, Lucy McGrath.
Blessed with 3 children (Marcy, Douglas and Timothy) while living in the Chicago suburbs, Nancy and Tim decided to escape the cold weather and head south. Nancy was tickled to retell the story (perhaps embellished over the years), describing how they ended up in Texas. As the story goes, she showed their daughter Marcy a map of the United States and allowed her to select the state where they would move. Fortunately, on this version of the map Texas was pink and they moved to establish their roots in Kingwood, Texas.
A pivotal point in Nancy’s life began after interviewing with Frank Duffy for an outside Sales Executive role representing a direct marketing company. Frank took a chance on Nancy launching her sales career, and it was her mission to make him proud and support her family. Nancy’s genuine desire to help people was exemplified by her very successful 35+ year career in advertising sales. Nancy loved her customers, many as dear friends, and wanted to help local small businesses thrive. A side effect of this hard work resulted in Nancy achieving many top sales awards starting with American Advertising through acquisitions by Money Mailer, and then most recently in a role with Valpak.
One of the blessings she held most dear was the birth of her 4th child, Pierce. He arrived as the family’s first true Texan and made their family complete. Experiencing life with Pierce kept Nancy feeling young. He was her (sometimes unwilling) guest for Yanni concerts and they enjoyed many fun-filled vacations together.
Nancy loved spending time with her entire family, especially her grandkids, whether it was traveling with her son Tim to Seattle to see Zane and Gracia, watching soccer games, playing board games, renting a beach house for the whole family to enjoy together, or orchestrating an amazing Alaskan cruise- she loved to travel, eat new foods (except oysters!) and didn’t let her prosthetic leg stifle her sense of adventure. She enjoyed parasailing, riding in a small engine prop plane, whale watching, and attending countless concerts. Her love of music was diverse – Christian, Classical, Motown - Il Divo, Fleetwood Mac, Andrea Bocelli, Lionel Richie, Christian Science hymns, and her grandson Owen’s cello performances were among her favorites.
Nancy’s generous heart led her to open her home to those less fortunate, hosting the homeless and supporting prison ministry through her church. Nancy was a lifelong Christian Scientist, devoted to her faith, her relationship to God, and the Golden Rule. She loved her church family and found great comfort and joy in the readings available within the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Throughout her life the bible was her steady companion, and she knew in her heart that, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. - Psalms 18.”
While her passing was unexpected and heartbreaking, her family is comforted knowing she is no longer in pain and is joyfully reunited with her son Doug. In everything she did, she kept Jesus’s teachings as her beacon of Truth – loving her neighbor. Nancy’s legacy is love.
Service Details:
To celebrate Nancy’s life, please join us Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 2:00pm for a memorial service in the large Chapel at Kingwood Funeral Home, Kingwood, Texas. Following the brief service, light refreshments and fellowship will occur in the visitation area until 5:00pm. All are welcome; masks are requested.
Do you have any stories and/or pictures of yourself and Nancy that you could share with us? Her children are collecting stories about her impactful life for a video slide show and to create memory books for her grandchildren. Please email stories and pictures by April 11th to: [email protected]
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