Nancy Rae Howell, 64, passed away peacefully at her home on October 11, 2020.
She was born Nancy Rae Haller on May 2, 1956, in Kansas City, Kansas, to Raymond and Annie M. (O’Neal) Haller.
A lifelong resident of the Piper area, Nancy graduated from Piper High School in 1974. She earned her associate’s degree in Nursing at Kansas City, Kansas Area Technical School. She worked for her beloved Bethany Medical Center, where she made a difference in the lives of patients and their families.
Nancy loved to love people. She married her husband of 39 years, Lawrence (Craig) Howell, on June 26, 1981. Together, they built a loving family in the Piper area and successfully ran multiple businesses over the years.
She was a phenomenal mother to her children and had no problem answering the phone a million times a day when her kids had questions about cooking, gardening, crafting and the meaning of life.
The kitchen was Nancy’s favorite place to be. She enjoyed cooking for friends and family and had a gift for creating all kinds of delicious dishes. She loved celebrating life and always did it up big, passing down and making the most fabulous family memories and traditions.
She was an active member of Basehor United Methodist Church, participating in many programs and activities. She loved sharing the love of God with others through friendship and fellowship and spent many hours working to create fun projects for the church youth. You could always find her putting together craft projects or a costume for her next skit.
Nancy was preceded in death by her mother, father and brothers-in-law, Donald Pickert and Stanley Cygan.
She is missed beyond words and survived by her husband Craig, sisters Cindy Stanley (Patrick) and Barbara Cygan, sister-in-law Patricia Pickert, children Gita Flory (Jeffrey), Paul Howell (Katie), Brooke Skibinski (George), Courtney Howell-McAnelly (Paul) and Candice Roberts (Jason) and stepsons Christopher Howell (Brooke) and Brian Howell (Emily). Her 12 grandchildren: Andrew, Parker, Lydia, Blake, Payton, Hannah, Blake, Brecken, Chase, Walker, Rebekah and Eleanor were the light of her life and will miss the special love that only Grandma Nancy could give.
A lover of all souls, she also leaves behind five cats: Ava, Bailey, Chloe, Simon and Callie and her two burly Labradors, Murphy and Scout.
Because of her love for others and sharing the joy of Jesus Christ, the family would be honored to have donations made in Nancy’s memory to Basehor United Methodist Church, 18660 158th St, Basehor, KS 66012.
An outdoor visitation will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2020, at 10 a.m. at Basehor United Methodist Church. A memorial service will commence at 11 a.m. at the church with burial following at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Kansas City, Kansas.
Please wear a mask, bring lawn chairs and dress for the weather.