Nancy Byrne
Nancy Byrne, of Signal Mountain, died on Wednesday, October 10, 2018, after a 26-month battle with ovarian cancer that had metastasized.
She researched the cancer and its treatments thoroughly, and she fought it courageously and valiantly. She was an inspiration to many at Chattanooga's Woman's Oncology. The nurses there include Allison, Cindy, Sarah, Sandy, Whitney, Dana, Karen, and Kelly were terrific.
She was born in Cleveland, and was the daughter of Charles Beecher Casada and Olva Lee "Brownie" Brown. Growing up with two parents who worked full time, she frequently spent the afternoons after school in the Cleveland Public Library where she fell in love with books. Her love of reading has resulted in the "NCB" Library in her home with several thousand books. She graduated from Cleveland High School as an honor student and entered the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. There she met the BIG love of her life, Ben. This interrupted her studies, but they married and were happily married for 46 years.
Nance and Ben moved to Chattanooga and after a few years she re-entered the university. At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga she was the Jeffrey Brown Scholar and she worked on the Bluff Furnace Project. She pursued Anthropology and later Medical Anthropology. She earned a master's degree and continued pursuing a PhD. In 1994, she was a contestant on TV's JEOPARDY! television show where she came in second place. She did not win the big prize but won a fax machine, frozen dinners and enough Gain laundry detergent to last a life time. She was an exceptional cook.
Nance had one child, Courtney Anne Byrne who is following in Nancy's footsteps. Courtney is married to Lebron Kaylor and they have two sons: Clark who will be three in December and Griffin who turned seven months old last week.
Nancy was predeceased by her parents, Beecher and Brownie, and grandparents, Alda Brown and Arthur Brown of Trenton, Ga. Beecher's family included 10 brothers and sisters.
In late high school and early college Nancy was a model for Simplicity Dress Patterns and Anna Ball White. For the past 25 years, she worked for St. Jude Catholic School in the office, and as the cafeteria manager, and lastly the director of admissions. She loved the students at St. Jude School and the teachers and staff, and as her cancer progressed, she was honored by Team Nance, a group of St. Jude Staff members led by Linda Starry and Kathie Preston, interested in fighting Ovarian Cancer.
We all thank Jesus Christ for the life of Nancy Byrne.
A Celebration of Life Mass will be held on Monday, Oct. 15, of this week at St. Jude Catholic Church at 11 a.m., with a burial to follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, with Monsignor Bob Hofstetter officiating.
There will be visitation at the Chattanooga Funeral Home North on Sunday, Oct. 14, from 2-5 p.m. at the North Chapel on Highway 153.