Nance, Barbara Baker Page
Barbara Baker Page Nance passed away at her home in Salem, VA on September 22, 2024. Barbara was born in Pound, VA on April 30,1939 to William Clyde Baker and Nella Hubbard Baker.
She was raised on her family’s homestead (fondly referred to as “The Hill”) along with her siblings Bill, Carol, Delores, and Jeanie where she was occasionally taunted as “Barbie Cat” (although the offending sibling would need catlike reflexes to escape after invoking that nickname).
Barbara was a 1957 graduate of Pound High School. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Radford College in 1960, she moved to the Washington D.C. suburbs where she worked as a teacher at Osborne High School in Manassas, VA and later as an Educational Specialist for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. During her years with the federal government, she met and married Ernest Henry Page, an engineer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and in 1965 the couple gave birth to a son (Ernest Henry Jr.).
In 1967 the couple returned to “The Hill” in Pound where they welcomed a second son (Anthony Baker). Ernie Sr. became an architect with Thompson and Litton, and Barbara began a long and storied tenure as an educator in the Wise County Public Schools system.
Barbara’s professional legacy is one of dedication to public education. For a short time, Barbara served as a Special Education Instructor at Pound Elementary School, but spent most of her thirty-year career as an influential English teacher at J.J. Kelly High School in Wise, VA. She had a passion and gift not only for classroom instruction, but also for shaping the curriculum and content standards at the county level. She devoted time to mentoring teachers by conducting numerous workshops, organizing conferences, and piloting programs for continued education. Barbara lead by example, earning her Master’s degree in Education from Union College, Barbourville, KY. Barbara was an agent of change in English education. She was an active and driving member of the Virginia Association of Teachers of English and guided fellow teachers in Wise County in the implementation of Writing Across the Curriculum, a nationwide movement. Throughout her entire career, Barbara was an innovative educator and inspired her students to be lifelong learners like their favorite English teacher.
Barbara’s love of family defined her life, and after Ernie Sr.’s death in 1977, Barbara took on the role of single, working mother shepherding her boys through their years at Pound High School and into their collegiate careers at Virginia Tech through the 1980s and 1990s. Barbara was incredibly proud of her sons and they, in turn, were proud of her.
As a parent of two Hokies, Barbara became a big VT supporter and fan, but she took her fandom to the next level when she met Richard Nance, a professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, in 1989. The couple would marry at the chapel on campus in October 2001.
For 35 years Barbara and Dick traveled the world, enjoyed their homes in Pound, VA, Salem, VA, and Dunedin, FL, spent time with friends and family, doted on their grandchildren, and spoiled their pets. If there was ever a life well-lived, it was Barbara’s!
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Clyde and Nella; siblings Bill, Carol and Delores; and first husband, Ernie. She is survived by her husband Dick, sister Jeanie, children Ernie (Jayne), Tony (Kim), Rick (Kate), and Adriann (John); grandchildren Julia (Tim), Ernie III (Christinia), Sasha, Gavin, and Jules.
A service of remembrance will be held at the War Memorial Chapel, Virginia Tech campus on Saturday, October 12, 2024 from 2:00-4:00. A reception will follow at the University Club at Lane Stadium.
Donations in Barbara’s name are encouraged to the American Cancer Society, Cancer Research Institute, or Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
