Wilma Nance was born in Springfield on August 6, 1924, to Floyd and Neva Johnson (nee Boettler).  She died on September 11, 2021, not long after her 97th birthday.

Wilma was preceded in death by her husband, Lauren (Joe) Nance, by her sister, Eula Murray, and by her daughter, Lauren.  She is survived by her son, Jon, three grandchildren, three great grandchildren, and by her sister, Norma Jones.

After her marriage, Wilma became a young partner in S.R. Nance and Son Flowers, where she kept books and worked as a floral designer.  After that business was sold in 1960, she assisted her husband while he became a homebuilder, mortgage lender and four-term Springfield City Councilman. They used this semi-retired interval to travel widely in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.  After Joe's death in 1974, Wilma returned to floral design for a few years, travelled with her children, visited Western Europe, the U.S.S.R. and China and worked as a volunteer at the American Red Cross Blood Bank.  Sometime after the death of his wife Pearl in 1998, Wilma and old family friend Harry Appleby Sr. became inseparable companions.

Wilma was a talented floral designer, producing works of graceful asymmetry that were recognizably her own.  She loved travelling, bird watching, and shopping for antiques.  And, inexplicably, she loved a succession of ill-mannered dachshunds: three Lucifers, a Susie, and finally a Sarah.

A series of health problems, beginning around 2004 with failed back surgery, caused her vitality to decline steadily after her 80th birthday.  A partially disabling stroke in late 2013 led her, finally, to remark to a doctor that she just wanted to exit this life as easily as possible.  It turned out to be not so easy, but she has found her peace at last.

Graveside services at Greenlawn North Cemetery will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 18, 2021 under the direction of Gorman-Scharpf.  In lieu of flowers, a contribution to the Nature Conservancy or to the American Red Cross is suggested.