Nancy Smith

(From Mason-Woodard Mortuary)

Nancy Elizabeth Hatfield Smith died peacefully at home on May 24, 2025, in Joplin, Missouri. She was 78 years old. A woman of unwavering faith, quiet strength, integrity, and quick wit, Nancy lived a life marked by devotion to her family, church, and the many people she knew and helped serve worldwide.

Nancy was born on November 19, 1946, at home in Harrodsburg, Indiana. She was the eighth of nine children born to Cloudy Kentling and Laura Ruth Hatfield. She grew up in southern Indiana and graduated from Smithville High School in 1964. Nancy was an avid reader. She loved history, trivia, and a good story.

After graduation, Nancy worked at RCA in Bloomington, Indiana, and as a salesperson at the Three Sisters Dress Shop. She once bought a yellow-and-black Ford Fairlane, an American muscle car she was known to drive fast. She fondly remembered it.

In 1965, at a church gathering, she met a young minister she allegedly called "hunky." Two years later, her sisters dared her to fix that man a plate of food—and she did, walking it over with the boldness that would define her life and spark a lifelong partnership rooted in faith, mutual respect, and enduring love.

Dennis and Nancy were married on September 9, 1968, in Harrodsburg, Indiana. Their life together took them across the world, as they lived in Indiana, Texas, Georgia, Oregon, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Arkansas. They served as missionaries in the African countries of Rhodesia, Malawi, and Zambia. Throughout their marriage, they called 35 different places home, and Nancy made each one a place of welcome, warmth, and laughter.

For many years, she was a full-time homemaker. She also worked in schools and later with a government assistance program. Still, her life centered around her roles as a minister's wife, mother, sister and friend. Nancy was a lifelong Church of Christ member and a faithful ministry partner. No matter where she lived or what role she filled, she was steady, grounded, and deeply engaged in the lives of those around her.

Nancy and Dennis had two children: Alicia (Delane) Butler of Wichita, Kansas, and Deron (Audrey) Smith of Flower Mound, Texas. She was "Nana" to Sierra (Josh) Osborne, Landon (Aspen) Butler, Garett Butler, Olivia Butler, Peyton Butler, Fischer, Sawyer, and Thatcher Smith. In 2024, she became a great-grandmother to Jackson Osborne and Asa Butler.

Nancy never expected life to be easy. She was tough, tender, plainspoken, and deeply rooted. She laughed often—sometimes at the wrong time—and never took herself too seriously. She suffered no fools and had a gift for cutting through nonsense and telling people, with a laugh, to "get over yourself."

When life handed her hardship, she faced it head-on. After being diagnosed with cancer, she simply said she'd been healthy most of her life, and who was she to complain now? She met this final chapter of her life with grace, grit, and determination, never complaining or losing her sense of humor or faith. Nancy is survived by her husband of 56 years, Dennis Smith; her children and grandchildren; her three sisters, Clarissa, Mary, and Connie; and countless extended family and friends who were drawn to her honesty, warmth, and steady presence.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 28, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Mason-Woodard Mortuary in Joplin, Missouri. Funeral services will occur on Thursday, May 29, at 10:00 a.m. at Leawood Village Church of Christ in Joplin. Nancy will be buried at the Burkhart Cemetery, on a hill beneath a shade tree—because she hated to be hot.

She'd roll her eyes at all the fuss if she had any say about this obituary. But we're making a fuss anyway because she deeply mattered to many people. We will never forget her laugh, and we will miss her terribly. It is no tragedy when a Christian, who spent her whole life on earth preparing for an eternal reward, dies. On this earth, Nancy lived in many places and homes. We rejoice with her because now she's moved into her eternal home.