Nancy Whitney

One month and 4 days shy of her 89th birthday, Nancy Whitney passed away peacefully on January 23, 2022, in hospice care at Methodist Central Hospital in Dallas, Texas, after suffering the effects of dementia and years of other health issues. Nancy was born February 27, 1933 in Eddy, Texas. She is preceded in death by her parents, Anderson L. Stepp and Lucy Kathryn (Williams) Stepp; her maternal grandparents, J.H. and Evelyn Pauline Williams; and her late husband, Adrian R. Whitney.

Nancy grew up in Eddy and as a young girl learned to play the piano, a love that she enjoyed her whole life. In May of 1953 when the infamous tornado hit downtown Waco, Nancy was working on one of the very top floors in the Alico Building. Like so many other workers, she had to walk down many flights of stairs in the dark to safety. In her twenties she attended secretarial school. Afterwards, she and her daughter lived in Austin from the late fifties until the early sixties, working first at a downtown Austin Radio Station (KNOW) and later at the State Capitol in the Comptroller’s Office. Finally due to health issues, she had to return to Eddy.

She met and married her second husband, Adrian Whitney, in 1963, and they lived in Waco. Afterwards, she became a full time homemaker. She was known to cook really good fried chicken and hot water cornbread.
In 2011, she moved to Duncanville, Texas to live with her daughter. In her later years, Nancy became an avid fan of the Texas Rangers and Lady Baylor Bears Basketball. She enjoyed reading books all about Texas, its history and people. She also enjoyed reading Danielle Steele novels from time to time. She would call them “juicy”. Watching John Wayne movies was also very important. It didn’t matter how many times she had seen them. Rocky Road ice cream and peach cobbler were high on her list too.

Survivors include daughter, Carolyn Vining of Duncanville; son, Robert Whitney (Diane) of Waco; step-sons, Mike Whitney (Marsha) and family of New Braunfels, Marlyn Whitney (Bonita) and family of Robinson, Chris Whitney (Kim) and family of Waco; grandson, Kevin Wolff of Cedar Hill; great-granddaughter, Lola Wolff of Denton; and great-grandson, Ty Wolff of Cedar Hill; along with cousins, John Williams (Carolyn) and Martha York (Buster), all of Robinson.

A special thanks goes out to all the wonderful and caring staff at Vitas Hospice in Methodist, who took care of Nancy the last two weeks of her life. They did all they could to make her last days as comfortable, peaceful, and painless as possible. Also, a very big “thank you” to Nurse Wendy at the nursing home in Duncanville, where she spent her last years. She always made sure that Nancy was well taken care of. Wendy called her “my Betty White” and Wendy was Nancy’s “angel”.

A viewing will be held 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, January 30th at Pecan Grove Funeral Home, 3124 Robinson Dr., Waco. A graveside service will be 1:00 p.m. Monday, January 31st at the old Eddy Cemetery.