Nancy Jane Lanham

Maple City – Nancy Jane (Newman) Lanham, a blessing to all who knew her and an incredible sister, wife, mom, grandma, great grandma and friend, passed away peacefully on June 15, 2022 at her home. Nancy was born on February 28, 1934 in Traverse City to the late Ira Hall and Bertha May (Gilbert) Newman. She was raised on Newman Road alongside her brother Duane and had a wonderful childhood playing on their family farm, helping with chores around the homestead and enjoying the great outdoors through all the seasons. She learned the value of a good day's work and caring for one's family above all else from her parents. In 1951, she met a neighbor, John Arthur Lanham and the two began dating. She graduated from high school in 1952 and was the salutatorian of her class. The two love birds continued to date while John served in the Navy and when he returned, he asked for her to be his bride. On June 12, 1954, they united in marriage and their love story officially began. John and Nancy moved to their home on Kasson Center and started their life together. It was here that they raised their four children; Peggy, Randy, Tommy and Kathy. It was also here that they raised countless animals, crops, fruits, vegetables and nuts on their fruit and nut farm. While John built homes around Glen Lake and went to work for the U.S. Postal Service, Nancy held down the fort, was John's bookkeeper and made their house an incredible home. Nancy was a charter member of Glen Lake Community Reformed Church. Her faith brought her great comfort and joy throughout her life. She enjoyed singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, being a Kids Hope mentor and serving on the funeral luncheon committee for many years. She also was a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary and the Rose Hill Cemetery Association. In her free time, she enjoyed getting her hands dirty in her expansive fruit, vegetable and flower gardens; traveling around the country with her family and doing ceramics. She also loved to dance especially polka and play cards. She also liked to bake pies and cookies for friends and neighbors. Nancy was a wonderful host for company that often stopped by. No one left her house hungry, as she always had cookies ready, fresh baked bread or something she could magically throw together to serve her guests. Her two huge deep freezers were always full, just in case. In later years, her family got her a sign that read "Nanny's Inn" because she always welcomed friends, family and visitors with open arms. Nancy will be remembered for her love of traditions. She was a faithful attender at the Old Settlers Picnic held the first Sunday every August, and for many years helped lead the worship service that honored God and the early Leelanau County Settlers. She also loved to host "Sunday Dinners" for her whole family. All would gather around 1:30 pm and would join together around her big dining room table in the dining room she had especially built just for such times. The table would be filled with food; often enough to feed the whole county. It usually included two types of meat, a potato of course and several side dishes. And then came the desserts including several different types of pies. She also taught her family the importance of celebrating birthdays together. Everyone always got their own party, birthday cake of their choice, meal and presents to celebrate. Her family room was always ready for celebrations and especially Christmas mornings where she hung homemade stockings over the stone fireplace and always had a beautiful tree from their farm covered in tinsel and special ornaments. Nancy will also be remembered for her love of bunnies! Whether they were pets (both outdoor or house trained) or just for decoration; she loved them all! She also collected porcelain baby dolls as even from a young age she adored children. Above all else, Nancy loved her family. She loved her grandchildren and was the best great-grandma to her four great grandchildren. Her great grandsons gave her the name "Farm Grandma" and she loved this title. Both her grands and great grands will remember how she would spoil them with presents and much to their chagrin, clothes on their birthday. She would spoil them with endless amounts of cookies, treats and famous homemade spaghetti which was loved and requested on a routine basis. She loved when they came to the farm to pick raspberries, apples and cherries and even "pend the night". She loved walking in the woods with them looking for wildflowers and hunting for mushrooms. Most importantly she would spoil them with her unending love. She was quite simply the best and will be dearly missed by her family and friends. Nancy was preceded in death by her beloved husband John in 2014 after nearly 60 years of marriage; John's siblings Carl (Ione) Lanham, Margaret (Frank) Hardin, Fred (Dottie) Lanham, Dorothy Lanham, Esther (Bill) Tibbitts, and Harry (Evelyn) Fitzpatrick. She is survived by her children Peg (Dan) Jonkhoff, Randy Lanham, Tom (Pam) Lanham and Kathy (Doug) Gauthier; grandchildren Christy (Brian) Jonkhoff-Hater, Lindsey (Chris) Rogers, John (Fiancé Becky) Lanham, and Zach Cooper; great grandchildren Harvey and Carson Rogers and Maxine and Molly Hater; brother Duane (Mary) Newman and many other family members and friends. Visitation will be held at Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home on Monday, June 20, 2022 from 4 – 7 pm. The funeral celebrating and honoring her life will be held on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 11 am at Glen Lake Community Reformed Church with visitation beginning at 10 am. A luncheon will follow at the church. She will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery beside all of her departed family whom she is now rejoicing with in Heaven. Source: https://www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com/obituaries/Nancy-Lanham-3/#!/Obituary