Nancy Grace [Mills] Whinery, 81, of rural Huntington, IN, passed away gracefully on the morning of January 7, 2019, at Markle Health and Rehabilitation in Markle, IN. Born May 4, 1937, at the hospital in Noblesville, IN, she was the daughter of Hazel Etta (Webster) Mills and Richard Sherwood Mills.
Nancy graduated from Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis in 1955 and from Purdue University with a bachelor’s of science degree in diatetics in 1960. She was a member of Alpha Xi Delta women’s fraternity at Purdue. She also worked at the Purdue University Child Development Center as a nutritionist while in college.
While at Purdue she met Larry Alan Whinery on May 7, 1958. They were married on December 28, 1958, at Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, then went on to complete their college degree work. Nancy and Larry celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2018. Larry survives and cherishes memories of his beloved wife.
After graduation, she and Larry moved to the farm in Huntington County, IN, where they have lived all their time together, except for the time Larry was on active duty with the U.S. Army when he was stationed at Fort Eustis in Virginia. During that time they both developed a great regard for the sacrifices of the families of our military.
Nancy was a farm and military wife, homemaker, and mother of four. She also worked at the Huntington County Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service as a 4-H Youth Agent, then later at Huntington Orchards, and as a nutrition counselor for the USDA’s Women, Infants & Children Program (WIC) in Northeast Indiana, and finally as a Dietary Supervisor at two area nursing homes. For her entire married life she and her family operated Loon Creek Valley Farms, Inc. where they raised Indiana Certified Seed, row crops, hay, livestock, and had a U-Pick asparagus patch.
In early life she was a member of the Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church and in her married life a member of the Plum Tree United Church of Christ in Plum Tree, IN. She served in a number of capacities at Plum Tree U.C.C. and was Moderator of the church for several years until her death. At Plum Tree U.C.C. she helped with the plans for renovating the church, worked on countless church meals and programs, and provided planning and labor for church fund raisers such as the Plum Tree booth at the Warren Farmer’s Market and on the Plum Tree Pancake Breakfast to benefit the Warren Food Pantry, among others.
Nancy spent a lifetime helping others, always with patience and kindness. She enjoyed meeting new people, liked helping children to learn, and willingly showed compassion to strangers. She also loved animals and dutifully cared for many valued farm animals and cherished pets over the years. Sharing with others the arts of cooking, baking, gardening and quilting were among her favorite joys. The food from her kitchen was a draw for her husband, siblings, children, friends of her children, nieces, nephews, cousins and grandchildren. Her culinary creations were always very popular at church functions and area pitch-ins. She produced no fewer than a dozen quilts and sewed many outfits, pillows and other items over the years. She earned Honorable Mention at the only quilt show she ever entered with the quilt she made for son Dorrel Alan.
She was a member of the Piecemakers Quilt Club in Huntington and served as their president for a time. She was also a leader of a Huntington area TOPS club and early in her married life participated in area Extension Homemakers Club activities. Besides helping her four children with 4-H and school sports and music programs, she also mentored a number of other 4-Hers to complete their projects. She also assisted with school tours of the Chief Lafontaine house and grounds and participated in a PBS Channel 39 fundraising telethon.
Nancy is loved and cherished by her children and honorary grandchildren and great grandchildren: daughter Kimberley Anne (Allen) MacMillan, Huntington County; son Dorrel Alan (Jennifer) Whinery, Kaneohe, HI; daughter Sarah Elizabeth (Kenneth) Whinery-Smith, Greenfield, IN; daughter Heather Rae (Mike Albamonte) Zaccagnini, Harvard, IL; granddaughter Rachel Kochensparger; granddaughter Ashly Kochensparger; granddaughter Alexandria Aschliman; great granddaughter Paxten Daggett, and great grandson Maddox Adams.
She is also survived and remembered by: cousin Peter (Barbara) Illyes, Morrison, CO; half-brother Jerry (Rui) Mills, Sarasota, FL; cousin Vanessa M. [Wells] (Brion) Bauer, Huber Heights, OH; cousin Victor (Alice) Wells, Green Mountain Falls, CO; first cousin Valetta Wells, Waterloo, IA; first cousin once-removed Angela [Illyes] (Michael) Graff, Atlanta, GA; first cousin once-removed Chandra [Bauer] (Marc) Greenberg, East Brunswick, NJ; first cousin once-removed Brett Bauer, Springfield, OH; first cousin once-removed Eric Bauer, West Carrollton, OH; sister-in-law Norma [Whinery] Haley, San Antonio, TX; nephew Thomas (Marilyn) Cullison, Swansboro, NC; niece Mary Kay [Cullison] Bonner, Whitestown, IN; niece Ann [Whinery] (Fred) Crowner, Mt. Vernon, OH; nephew Dan (Peggy) Whinery, Warren, IN; nephew Dale (Katharine) Whinery, New Salisbury, IN; nephew Michael (Margaret) Haley, Newbury Park, CA; nephew Jerry (Lynn) Haley, Dundee, NY; nephew James (Julie) Haley, Broken Arrow, OK; and a number of great and great, great nieces and nephews and cousins twice removed.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents (maternal [adopted, actually uncle and aunt] Oscar and Henrietta [MacAlpine] Webster and paternal Lewis and Grace [Wildunner] Mills), her parents, two maternal aunts (Mary [Webster] Illyes and Helen [Webster] Wells), two sisters-in-law (Edith [Whinery] Cullison-Smith and Maro [Lowery] Whinery), four brothers-in-law (Floyd Cullison, Roy Smith, David Gene Whinery and Louis E. Haley), her first cousin once-removed Andrew Illyes, and her son-in-law John A. Zaccagnini, Jr.
Nancy will also be missed by many dear friends, including, but not limited to Brooke and Jim Aschliman, Tammy L. Brown, Doug and Inez Flaugh, Dan and Dee Kochensparger, those in the congregation at Plum Tree United Church of Christ, friends from Purdue and her jobs and clubs, the Carl and Paul families who farmed for them, and many others in Huntington County, and elsewhere in the U.S.A. She also leaves behind distant relatives and friends that she and Larry came to know on their two trips to Scotland, Ireland and England.
Calling will be Friday, Jan. 18, from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 19, from 10 to 11 a.m., and a Celebration of Life service will be Saturday, Jan. 19 at 11 a.m., followed by burial at Star of Hope Cemetery on County Road 200 East in Huntington County. Calling and service will be at H. Brown & Son-Glancy Funeral Home, 203 N. Matilda St., Warren, IN 46792. Online condolences may be offered at www.glancyfuneralhomes.com.
Officiants for the Celebration of Life service will be the Reverends Jill Miller and Dan Kochensparger, with readings by James K. Keith and Pete Wehr. Nancy’s pallbearers will be: Dr. Tom Cullison, nephew; Jerry Haley, nephew; David J. Bonner, great nephew; John Anson, friend; Jim Aschliman, friend; Jeremy Brown, friend; Jim Carl, friend; Doug Flaugh, friend; Dan Kochensparger, friend; Jim Paul, friend; Jay Dee Walters, friend, and Pete Wehr, friend.
Her honorary pallbearers will be: Peter Illyes, cousin; Jerry Mills, brother; Dan Whinery, nephew; Dale Whinery, nephew; Michael Haley, nephew; James Haley, nephew; Dr. Phillip Cullison Bonner, great nephew; Jack Brooks, friend; Harold Harness, friend; Bill Harshbarger, friend; Wendell Jackson, friend; David G. Johnson, friend; Max E. Miller, friend (posthumously); Jim Piqune, friend; Dr. Stanley Poe, friend; Ray E. Record, friend; Hubert Shackleton, friend; Tom Shideler, friend; Larry Sprowl, friend; Dr. Bob Spuller, friend, and Coulter Wehr, friend.
Preferred memorials are to: McKenzie’s Hope Child Advocacy; Riley Children’s Hospital Foundation; Huntington County Humane Society; Helping Paws Pet Haven; Purdue University Research Foundation, or a charity of the donor’s choice in Mrs. Whinery’s name.