1914
Nannie
2011
Nannie Lou Conrad
July 19, 1914 — June 29, 2011
YEAR OF BIRTH: 1914
NAME: Nannie Lou (Ford) Conrad AGE: 96
Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. followed by a prayer service and remembrances at 7:00 p.m. at Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 South Georgia, on Wednesday, July 6, 2011. Funeral Mass will be held 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 7, 2011, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1200 South Washington, Amarillo, TX with Msgr. Harold Waldow as celebrant. Interment will follow at Llano Cemetery.
Nannie Lou (Ford) Conrad, 96, passed away peacefully at her daughter’s home in Austin, on June 29, 2011, after completing a long life filled with the love of family and friends. Nannie Lou (Nan) was born on July 19, 1914 on a farm in Red River County, East Texas, on land that is still in the Ford family today. She was the third child born to Isaac Carlton and Sallie D. Ridley Ford. Sadly, her mother passed away a few days before her eleventh birthday.
As an adolescent, Nan remembered going camping, cooking in the woods, and going to parties at neighboring country homes. School was always very important to her and she walked one and a half miles to attend Hickory Grove, the two-room elementary school house in Addielou. She graduated from high school at New Boston while living with a step-aunt. Nan moved to Pampa when she was 20 years old to live with and work for a family that owned a ladies’ ready-to-wear store; then at age 23, she moved to Amarillo, paid a $25 fee, and entered St. Anthony’s Nursing School. A couple of her maternal uncles helped support her with a $25 monthly allowance.
In l940 while walking back to the nurses’ dorm with a friend, Nan met the love of her life, Marcus Conrad. Since she had a curfew, they only talked a few minutes; however, months later Marcus was a patient at St. Anthony’s and they became reacquainted. Their first date was to Palo Duro Canyon and Nan described Marcus as “kind, smart, gentle, intelligent, and self-educated.” They enjoyed dancing at the Aviatrix Club and the Nat Ballroom when the funeral homes in Amarillo would give parties for the nurses. They continued to date while Marcus worked at John Deere and she was in nursing school.
Nan graduated from St. Anthony’s School of Nursing on Dec. 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. Before Marcus joined the Coast Guard in January, 1942, he gave Nan a ring. They kept in touch over the war years through letters, phone calls, and occasional visits. Nan tried to get into several branches of service, but was unable to join because of her medical history of gastric illness. She went back to Pampa and worked as a surgical nurse for Dr. A.B. Goldstein. After Dr. Goldstein enlisted, Nan joined the Civil Service and was sent to McLean, Texas German Prisoner of War Camp in September, l942. She headed up the American Ward and scrubbed for all surgeries until the camp was closed July 1, l945. She was then sent to the Pampa Army Airbase where she was in charge of the First Aid station at the hangar, checked on AWOL’s, and worked at the OB and pediatric clinics in town. After the Pampa airbase closed, Nan went to work for the VA Hospital in Amarillo as night shift supervisor experiencing the difficult war-time gas rationing and lack of antibiotics.
While on leave, Marcus and Nan were married on July 21, l946, at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Amarillo, Texas, with her wearing a blue crepe dress and matching hat. Nan always loved beautiful clothes, shoes, and purses! Their wedding reception was at the VA nurses’ home. Their early years of marriage were spent living with relatives in Groom, Claude and Corpus Christi. While in Corpus, Nan was called to Spohn Hospital to assist famed cardiologist, Dr. Michael DeBakey in surgery. Finally in 1950, Marcus and Nan settled in Amarillo and were founding members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and School where their three daughters were educated. Nan continued being a homemaker as well an active nurse. Over the years, she took care of many family members and friends as well as private duty nursing for the prominent Marsh, Ware, and Dunaway families of Amarillo; however, she always felt that the most rewarding part of her career was being in charge of St. Anthony’s 23 bed eye ward for eight and a half years. While at St. Anthony’s, Nan was an integral part of assisting renown Amarillo eye surgeons—Drs. Murphy, Alpar, Taylor, Howell, and Curry.
Nan also enjoyed an active social life with friends in the Amarillo Pilot Club and Garden Club as well as being a regular attendee at the Amarillo Symphony and Amarillo Little Theater. Sewing and cooking were great joys to Nan. She was known for her German Chocolate Cake, Italian Crème Cake, Banana and Date Nut Breads, and fudge. Another great love for Nan was working in her flowerbeds. Well into her nineties, Nan continued to cook, garden and drive around Amarillo in her 1985 Cadillac. She will be greatly missed by so many people who were fortunate to call her friend. Her grandchildren are very proud that their grandma, Nan, has touched and enlightened the lives of so many people. Everyone who met her realized what a special and truly wonderful angel she was. She always strived to help others first before thinking of herself and she never met a stranger.
Nan is preceded in death by her parents, Isaac Carlton and Sallie D. Ridley Ford, her husband, Marcus Conrad, and her two brothers, Aubrey and Tom Ford. She is survived by three daughters –Sister Shawn Conrad, OSB of Littleton, CO; Margaret Fullerton and husband, Jimmy, of Austin, TX; Rose Plause and husband, Jon, of Hendersonville, TN; four grandchildren—Nancy Girard and husband, Glen of Denver, CO; Marc Fullerton and wife, Jackie, of Round Rock, TX; Amy Kimberlin and husband, Bill, of Nashville, TN; Nick Middleton of Lake Jackson, TX; and one great grandson—Conrad Ross Girard.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Scott and White Hospice, 5701 Airport Road, Temple, TX 76502 or The Nannie L. Ford Conrad Nursing Scholarship, c/o Sisters of Benedict of Colorado, 4264 West Ponds View Drive, Littleton, CO, 80123.
NAME: Nannie Lou (Ford) Conrad AGE: 96
Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. followed by a prayer service and remembrances at 7:00 p.m. at Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 South Georgia, on Wednesday, July 6, 2011. Funeral Mass will be held 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 7, 2011, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1200 South Washington, Amarillo, TX with Msgr. Harold Waldow as celebrant. Interment will follow at Llano Cemetery.
Nannie Lou (Ford) Conrad, 96, passed away peacefully at her daughter’s home in Austin, on June 29, 2011, after completing a long life filled with the love of family and friends. Nannie Lou (Nan) was born on July 19, 1914 on a farm in Red River County, East Texas, on land that is still in the Ford family today. She was the third child born to Isaac Carlton and Sallie D. Ridley Ford. Sadly, her mother passed away a few days before her eleventh birthday.
As an adolescent, Nan remembered going camping, cooking in the woods, and going to parties at neighboring country homes. School was always very important to her and she walked one and a half miles to attend Hickory Grove, the two-room elementary school house in Addielou. She graduated from high school at New Boston while living with a step-aunt. Nan moved to Pampa when she was 20 years old to live with and work for a family that owned a ladies’ ready-to-wear store; then at age 23, she moved to Amarillo, paid a $25 fee, and entered St. Anthony’s Nursing School. A couple of her maternal uncles helped support her with a $25 monthly allowance.
In l940 while walking back to the nurses’ dorm with a friend, Nan met the love of her life, Marcus Conrad. Since she had a curfew, they only talked a few minutes; however, months later Marcus was a patient at St. Anthony’s and they became reacquainted. Their first date was to Palo Duro Canyon and Nan described Marcus as “kind, smart, gentle, intelligent, and self-educated.” They enjoyed dancing at the Aviatrix Club and the Nat Ballroom when the funeral homes in Amarillo would give parties for the nurses. They continued to date while Marcus worked at John Deere and she was in nursing school.
Nan graduated from St. Anthony’s School of Nursing on Dec. 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. Before Marcus joined the Coast Guard in January, 1942, he gave Nan a ring. They kept in touch over the war years through letters, phone calls, and occasional visits. Nan tried to get into several branches of service, but was unable to join because of her medical history of gastric illness. She went back to Pampa and worked as a surgical nurse for Dr. A.B. Goldstein. After Dr. Goldstein enlisted, Nan joined the Civil Service and was sent to McLean, Texas German Prisoner of War Camp in September, l942. She headed up the American Ward and scrubbed for all surgeries until the camp was closed July 1, l945. She was then sent to the Pampa Army Airbase where she was in charge of the First Aid station at the hangar, checked on AWOL’s, and worked at the OB and pediatric clinics in town. After the Pampa airbase closed, Nan went to work for the VA Hospital in Amarillo as night shift supervisor experiencing the difficult war-time gas rationing and lack of antibiotics.
While on leave, Marcus and Nan were married on July 21, l946, at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Amarillo, Texas, with her wearing a blue crepe dress and matching hat. Nan always loved beautiful clothes, shoes, and purses! Their wedding reception was at the VA nurses’ home. Their early years of marriage were spent living with relatives in Groom, Claude and Corpus Christi. While in Corpus, Nan was called to Spohn Hospital to assist famed cardiologist, Dr. Michael DeBakey in surgery. Finally in 1950, Marcus and Nan settled in Amarillo and were founding members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and School where their three daughters were educated. Nan continued being a homemaker as well an active nurse. Over the years, she took care of many family members and friends as well as private duty nursing for the prominent Marsh, Ware, and Dunaway families of Amarillo; however, she always felt that the most rewarding part of her career was being in charge of St. Anthony’s 23 bed eye ward for eight and a half years. While at St. Anthony’s, Nan was an integral part of assisting renown Amarillo eye surgeons—Drs. Murphy, Alpar, Taylor, Howell, and Curry.
Nan also enjoyed an active social life with friends in the Amarillo Pilot Club and Garden Club as well as being a regular attendee at the Amarillo Symphony and Amarillo Little Theater. Sewing and cooking were great joys to Nan. She was known for her German Chocolate Cake, Italian Crème Cake, Banana and Date Nut Breads, and fudge. Another great love for Nan was working in her flowerbeds. Well into her nineties, Nan continued to cook, garden and drive around Amarillo in her 1985 Cadillac. She will be greatly missed by so many people who were fortunate to call her friend. Her grandchildren are very proud that their grandma, Nan, has touched and enlightened the lives of so many people. Everyone who met her realized what a special and truly wonderful angel she was. She always strived to help others first before thinking of herself and she never met a stranger.
Nan is preceded in death by her parents, Isaac Carlton and Sallie D. Ridley Ford, her husband, Marcus Conrad, and her two brothers, Aubrey and Tom Ford. She is survived by three daughters –Sister Shawn Conrad, OSB of Littleton, CO; Margaret Fullerton and husband, Jimmy, of Austin, TX; Rose Plause and husband, Jon, of Hendersonville, TN; four grandchildren—Nancy Girard and husband, Glen of Denver, CO; Marc Fullerton and wife, Jackie, of Round Rock, TX; Amy Kimberlin and husband, Bill, of Nashville, TN; Nick Middleton of Lake Jackson, TX; and one great grandson—Conrad Ross Girard.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Scott and White Hospice, 5701 Airport Road, Temple, TX 76502 or The Nannie L. Ford Conrad Nursing Scholarship, c/o Sisters of Benedict of Colorado, 4264 West Ponds View Drive, Littleton, CO, 80123.
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