Nancy Ann Ripperger

January 24, 1942 – September 30, 2021

Posted 10/12/21

Born Nancy Ann McCoy on January 24, 1942 

She was the second child of William and Nelva McCoy in Indianola, Iowa. William and Nelva were farmers. William was a master hog producer and won …

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Nancy Ann Ripperger

January 24, 1942 – September 30, 2021

Posted

Born Nancy Ann McCoy on January 24, 1942 

She was the second child of William and Nelva McCoy in Indianola, Iowa. William and Nelva were farmers. William was a master hog producer and won multiple conservation awards. 

Nancy had two sisters Carolyn and Kay. 

She started dating Larry Ripperger, a boy from the farm next door, when she was fifteen. Larry didn’t grow up going to church, so Nancy made sure to take him. He came to know Christ as a result. They were married on November 24, 1961 when Nancy was 19 and Larry was 20. They would have been married sixty years this November. 

In July of 1968, they had their first son, Tim, in January of 1969 they had their second child, Bryan, and in May of 1972 they had their third son, Jeff. 

Their three boys and daughters-in-law, Julie, Keri and Tara blessed them with 12 grandchildren (16 including spouses)…Derrick and his husband Bobby, Gavin, Kendi, and her fiancé , Denver, Maranda, Halle and her husband, David, Chris, Grant and his wife Emma, Jenna, Camden, Gracen, Blaine and Elizabeth. They also have one great granddaughter, Eden. 

Nancy and Larry have lived in Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Wisconsin and Texas. They have made their home in Katy, Texas since 1988. They were some of the original members of Westland Baptist Church from its humble beginning in an old Mexican restaurant on Apple White in Katy. Nancy loved serving the Lord by serving others. For more than a decade, she cooked meals every Wednesday night for the entire church to make it easier for families to bring their children to AWANA and attend Wednesday evening service. She loved hosting gatherings at her home and feeding everyone. It was a common occurrence for baby showers, wedding showers, birthday parties, Easter, thanksgiving and Christmas meals, graduation parties, bunko and late night card games to be hosted in the Ripperger home. Nancy had a green thumb. She loved flowers and they flourished in her yard. She planted a grapefruit seed in a pot nearly 50 years ago. When she moved to Katy, she planted it in her backyard. It produced thousands of grapefruit over the years. One of our family’s Christmas activities each year was harvesting the grapefruit. Sadly, the tree died this winter after the hard freeze we had in February and had to be cut down in May. 

Nancy was reserved and quiet. She was as close to a Proverbs 31 woman as a person can get. “She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26 

She was consistent and predictable - the calm in the midst of chaos. She was a compassionate encourager. She did things behind the scenes and wasn’t one to boast or draw attention to herself. She spent countless hours making scrapbooks for all twelve of her grandchildren. Her home was a place of comfort and joy. She always made sure there were fun activities and everyone’s favorite snacks when the grandkids came to visit. She loved cuddling her grand babies. She had a knack for comforting the crankiest of babies and rocking them to sleep. Although she and Larry did a lot of traveling over the years, Nancy was happiest in the comfort of her home. 

In July of this year, she started to feel bad. She was constantly dealing with allergy symptoms so at first she thought that’s what it was. By the end of July, she was hospitalized. She spent two weeks in the hospital only to be sent home with no answers or diagnosis. By the end of August, she was hospitalized again. September 9th, she was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer that had spread to her lungs and lymph nodes. Her doctors said there was nothing that could be done. Nancy came home September 11 to be cared for by her husband, Larry, and Blue Star Hospice. During her time at home, she was visited by all three of her sons, Tim, from Brookshire, Texas, Bryan, from Augusta, Kansas and Jeff from Coweta, Oklahoma. Her sisters, Carolyn and Kay, and her niece, Kathy, all from Iowa, her grandson, Derrick and his husband, Bobby, from Kansas and her granddaughter, Maranda, from Brookshire, Texas also came to visit her. She received an outpouring of love and encouragement through cards, texts and calls. Several close members of her church family came to visit and bring meals. She continued to show grace through her suffering.

The Lord mercifully and peacefully took her home at 10:32 in the morning on September 30 with her husband, Larry, son, Tim, and daughter-in-law, Julie, holding her hands and comforting her while listening to her favorite hymns, Amazing Grace and It Is Well. All those that are close to her will miss her dearly, but ultimately know she is blissfully enjoying her new heavenly home in the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus.

Nancy Ripperger, Obituary, Nancy McCoy, Nancy Ann Ripperger