Nannie Mae Spears
June 14, 2018
Resided in:
Arden, North Carolina
Asheville Butterfly Trail
Nannie Mae Spears, 82, of Arden, died Thursday, June 14, 2018 at CarePartners Solace Center.
A native of Alamance County, she was a daughter of the late Harper E. Dickens Sr. and Lucille Yountz Dickens.
Nannie is survived by her husband, James Henry Spears, Jr.; one son, Jimmy Spears, of Arden; two sisters, Priscilla Brande of Kernersville, NC and Judy Grubbs of Burlington, NC; one brother, Harper E. Dickens, Jr. of Burlington, NC; two grandchildren, Meghan Stark and Jessica Moore; five great-grandchildren, Cannon and Noah Stark and Madilyn, Karli and Kalyn Moore, as well as several nieces and nephews.
A Funeral Service will be at 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 23, 2018 at Carolina Christian Church, under the direction of Rich & Thompson Funeral Home in Burlington, NC. The family will receive friends at the church from 9:30-10:45 AM on Saturday. Burial will follow at Carolina Community Cemetery in Burlington.
Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian is assisting the family with local arrangements.
I want to send my sympathies to the family Harper E Dickens Jr, Judy Grubbs and other family members. I know how hard it will be she will be missed, but know that she is at peace and with other loved ones who have gone on. I pray God gives you peace and helps you thru the next few days.
I want to express my sympathies to Jim, Jimmy and family. Nan was a very dear friend of mine and was the most positive person I ever met. She brightened people’s lives on a daily basis and expressed kindness as well. I will miss her immensely and I thank God for putting her in my life, she truly blessed my life with her friendship. Thank you Nan for being a part of my life and I will see you soon.
Thinking of jim and extended family, a born carolina community neighbor. vicky arrington
Condolences to Jim and Jimmy and extended family.I worked with Nan for many years at Asheville VAMC.She was a kind and caring person and brought a smile to everyone she encountered.RIP dear friend
We are so sorry Nan passed away. She was a special woman who always made you feel welcome in her home. Sending lots of love and prayers to all the family.
Nan was my Head Nurse on the Nursing Home Care Unit and it was an honor
to work with her and to call her my friend. She so loved her family, and my heart aches for their loss.
Nan was a super sweet person. She always had a kind word and a giving heart. She always spoke love of her family. She was an inspiration to anyone working with her. She lived true Christian values. I’m sure she will be missed!!
I met Nan as a Graduate Nurse fresh out of school. Nan was always such a positive role model throughout my career as a VA nurse. She was so thoughtful, caring, and hardworking! May you rest in peace Nan. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends to find peace and strength in many wonderful memories of Nan.
Nan was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She was a true blessing to work with. She went above and beyond to take care of the Veterans. She was kind to all and a joy to work with. I do not have the words to express how much she will be missed. I am blessed to have had Nan as my friend. My prayers and thoughts are with you Jim, Jimmy, Megan and Jessica.
I was a good friend of a nurse who worked with Nan when she began here at the VA, and I worked with Nan after she retired and came back part time. I so enjoyed her and her memories of my friend who was in her 90’s by then. It was such a privilege to know of her as she began her career and to meet her towards the end of her career. She leaves a legacy in my life and I am a better nurse for having known her.
I was privileged to work for Nan during her VA career. She epitomized the caring that brought most of us into the nursing profession. Even after retirement and working only occasionally, she inspired young nurses to never forget why they became a nurse and the compassion she showed to our Veterans was an example to many. Quietly, respectfully, she never hesitated to suggest how I could make our professional practice environment better for our nurses. My thanks to her family who loaned her to us to serve our Veterans. What a special lady and nurse! There is a special place in Heaven for Nannie!
I am so sorry for your loss I am a fellow co-worker of Nans she used to be over the floor I worked on when I first came to work here years ago in NHCU 3rd floor what a wonderful nurse Nan was she was wonderful inside and out great to the Veterans she took care of and her co-workers. If you didn’t know Nannie was a coordinator you would have never known that she was she worked on the hall taking care of Veterans just as much and as hard as a CNA did. It was a joy and pleasure working with Nannie. God bless you all you are in my prayers.
We are saddened to learn of Nans passing. We have been neighbors for 10 years, and she was such a sweet lady. She is out of pain. Sending healing thoughts to Jim Senior and Jim Junior from California. She is a big loss.
I worked as Nurse Managers with Nan. I loved her and the love she had for veterans and nurses. I went to New Orleans with her and Blondel Mease for a VA program and enjoyed the happiness she shared. Prayers to her family.
My condolences to the family of this special lady. I was fortunate to work with Nan at the Charles George (Asheville) VAMC. She was always professional, kind and caring in all her interactions with staff and patients. She had a soft, gentle spirit. She possessed abundant empathy; a trait that cannot be taught but a gift. Nan was a wonderful example of how a nurse should practice. Rest in peace Nan.
so sorry to hear about Nan.She was an inspiration to us nurses at the Va.Such a hard worker and kind lady.I strive to be more like her.Prayers for her friends and family.
Nan was the Head Nurse, later to be called Nurse Manager of one of the Nursing Home Care Units (NHCU) in the old E-Building at the Asheville VA, when I came to the VA on October 5, 1987. I was the new physician in the Intermediate Care and NHCU. It was my distinct privilege to know her as a coworker/colleague, caring for our veterans but more so to call her a friend. We worked together for much of my VA career, until her retirement. She epitomized the highest qualities of a person and of nursing, a dedication to caring for the needs of her patients and the support of their families. She showed a patient and loving nature and respect for others, in her relationships with her staff and with me. I’ll not forget her telling me early on that when she graduated from nursing school, nurses wore their caps in the hospital, signifying what school they attended. She wore her cap for me one day. She wore it with pride and loved her profession. I give thanks to God for bringing Nan into my life. May she be with her Lord for eternity.