Nancy Robinson Funeral Service April 17, 1935 June 24, 2024

Nancy Wilson Robinson, beloved mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, sister and aunt passed away peacefully on June 24, 2024, after an extended illness. She was 89 years old.
A native of Buncombe County, Nancy was the daughter of the late Bascom Wilson and Harriet Rhodes Wilson. She is preceded in death by her sister Nell Wilson Robinson, brother John Bascom (JB) Wilson, and her niece Cathy Ann Robinson.
She is survived by her daughter Beth Ann Harris Jaekle and her husband Howard of Greensboro, her daughter Amy “Jane” Robinson of Hendersonville, and her granddaughters Madeline Jaekle of Greensboro and Megan Jaekle of Fort Lauderdale.
Nancy attended West Buncombe High School while also taking courses at Lee Edwards High School in Asheville completing her high school education in 3 years. She then attended Asheville-Biltmore College before being accepted to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during a time when women could only enroll as juniors. In 1977, Nancy graduated from Western Carolina University with a Masters of Education degree. She was indeed a gifted and driven achiever as she earned this degree while working full time, raising two daughters, and caring for elderly parents.
After graduating in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science (teaching) degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, Nancy began a teaching career in Buncombe County that would span 35 years. She taught at David Miller Junior High School, Haw Creek Elementary, St. Eugene Catholic School, West Buncombe School and Eliada School.
In1978, Nancy began teaching at Erwin Middle School and remained there until her retirement in 1994. For many years she was a sponsor for Student Government and was School Beautifcation Project Chairperson leading her students to both district and state wins. Nancy also facilitated the 8th grade graduation ceremony combining her love of intellect, creativity, and musical talents. To say that Nancy went above and beyond is an absolute understatement as her daughters saw her spend many evenings and weekends grading papers, creating fun lesson plans, and planning school events. During her time at Erwin Middle she also served on The American Red Cross Youth Division in Asheville. Nancy was the consummate professional educator and a true public servant to the Asheville City and Buncombe County communities as she enriched the lives of numerous students, their families and her colleagues. She loved her students and her students loved her, even the ones who were sometimes “naughty” as she kept the students “in line” with a firm yet kind and compassionate demeanor. Her love of children and education greatly influenced her daughter Beth Ann who spent much of her career as a School Nurse in Guilford County.
Music was an integral part of Nancy’s life. She was an accomplished pianist and began playing in her church, Victory Baptist, when she was just a young girl along with her sister Nell. Nancy and Nell played a beautiful arrangement of Amazing Grace with Nancy on the piano and Nell on the organ. They were asked to play their version on many occasions throughout the years and it was a true delight each time they did! During Nancy’s time at UNC-Chapel Hill, she sang in the UNC Glee Club which paved the way for her daughter Jane to do the same years later. She also organized and led several youth choirs and directed youth music and drama activities throughout the years.
Nancy was active in numerous organizations including The North Carolina Education Association and the Alpha Delta Kappa Teacher’s Sorority. She was President of the UNC-Asheville Alumni Association in 1980 and served on the UNC-Asheville Board of Trustees from 1981-1985. She received a Carnegie-Mellon Writing Fellowship to study at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1985. Nancy was very interested in her family’s genealogy and in 2004 she and her family were accepted into First Families of Old Buncombe.
Following retirement, Nancy received her greatest joy from being grandmother to her two granddaughters, Madeline and Megan. She was a constant presence in their lives and made their lives better as a result. She was and always will be their Nana.
At 70 years old, Nancy came out of retirement and became a teacher at the YWCA After School Program working with Kindergartners which was quite a change from the middle schoolers she had taught all of her professional teaching career. She loved this job and the children especially loved her. This was witnessed by her daughter Jane when she was at the Y’s gym as she could see through the windows all the little children surrounding her mom. It was adorable! Nancy worked at the Y until she was 75. She was determined to get her 5 year achievement award!
Anders-Rice Funeral Home and Cremation Center is honored to serve the Robinson family.