Nancy Harrub

Nancy brought love, joy and hope to her world. She was the daughter of Catherine and Raymond Dickens who predeceased her. A Nashville native, she grew up in the Pennington Bend area and graduated from Donelson High School. While in high School she was FFA queen and Captain of the Cheerleaders. While in Donelson High, she fell in love with the captain of the football team, Robert L. (Bob) Van Atta. Nancy and Bob were married for 35 years and had five children: Tony (Sandra), Becky (Larry), Gary (Courtney), Cathy (Gregg), and Robin (Donny). At her death, she had 15 grandchildren and about that many spouses. These had seven great grandchildren and three great-greats. Family gatherings were somewhere between chaos and riots. A good evening brought neither sirens nor bloodshed! She was known as Meema or Grandma by her grandchildren, and she enjoyed choosing and mailing birthday cards, never missing a chance to celebrate their births. Bob died at age 55, and Nancy was a single woman with five rowdy children. A couple of years later, she married Rev. Calvin N. (Bud) Harrub, who brought three more rowdy children to the mix: Calvin (deceased), Kevin (Staci) and Brad (Melinda) Nancy and Bud travelled widely by air, ship, train and kayak. They tasted conch fritters in Aruba and Tres Leches in San Juan, and visited some exotic places, enjoying things like swimming in the south Pacific or walking the ancient streets of Rome where the Apostle Paul had walked. They participated in several mission trips and the Walk to Emmaus. She was an athlete and golf was her sport of choice. At age 85, she was actively playing in the Lebanon Country Club Senior Scrambles. She would occasionally sink a thirty foot putt to enhance her reputation as Queen of the Greens. She had discovered her love for golf Found at Ravenwood prior to its closure. She also loved competing in card games at 50 Forward in Donelson. She was also a fan, especially fond of the college teams her son (Gary) was coaching and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Her artistic talent was evident in her paintings and stained glass creations. She claimed to have inherited her talent from her mom, who was called Tashy. Her faith was enhanced by her membership in Hermitage United Methodist Church, and the Shalom Seekers Sunday School Class. Nancy was a willing worker in her churches, taught Sunday School, played piano and as she said, "I was born on the steps of Pennington Bend United Methodist Church." She was a perfect fit in the churches Bud would serve as pastor in Middle Tennessee and North Florida. Surrounded by the large family and supported by many friends, she slipped from the pain and illness of this world to the joy of God's presence. The family will receive visitors from 1:00-3:30 on Saturday, April 27 ^th at Hermitage United Methodist Church. There will be a celebration of Nancy's life immediately following at 3:30 at Hermitage UMC.