My dear, sweet mother-in-law passed away peacefully on Friday
morning. Teresa and Matt had just gotten in from Nova Scotia around 2:30 am.
Mom passed away at 7:45 am. Everyone said that she had just been waiting for
Teresa to get there.
Yesterday was her funeral. Glen gave the eulogy, Alan told some
stories about mom, and David talked about the Plan of Salvation. The
grandchildren and great-grandchildren in attendance sang "I Love to See
the Temple" and "Families Can Be Together Forever." The granddaughters in attendance sang
"Somewhere My Love" (aka Lara's Theme from the movie Dr. Zhivago). It
was all absolutely wonderful.
Andrew, Heather, Henry, and Joy arrived around 1:30 am Monday morning and then left after the family luncheon. We will see them again in a
few days at Ryan and Angeles's wedding.
Many other nieces and nephews came in with their families for the
funeral, too. I'm sure mom loved having so many of her descendants all
together. It was a great honor to her.
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| gathered for our Mother's Day dinner Sunday May 13th |
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| Alan, Kathy, David, Teresa, and Glen |
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| Alex (who just met Joy for the first time) and Eric playing at being uncles |
This was the eulogy that Glen gave:
Nancy Perazzo’s Eulogy
Nancy Audrey Adams was was born on December 11th, 1933 to Irvin Danks and Bernice “C” Pendleton Adams in Bunkerville, Nevada. Mom was the third of six children, she had three sisters and two brothers. Older sisters Norma and Drexel, younger brothers Wayne and Calvin, and youngest sister Marilyn.
Mom spent her childhood years in Bunkerville, a small community of 200 people in southern Nevada, most who made their living farming, dairying, and raising cattle. All the people in Bunkerville were members of the Church and were always encouraging, guiding and living as good examples. Bunkerville was a wonderful place to grow up: swimming in the big ditch, roller skating down main street, playing “kick the can” after dark, running races, slumber parties, riding floats on the 4th of July, sleeping outdoors to keep cool, cheering for the Virgin Valley Bulldogs against Moapa Valley, watching her father drive range cattle through town into the corrals, playing on the lawn under a quilt while her Mama was quilting, exchanging freshly gathered eggs for ice cream or candy at the general department store--and more. Mom knew everyone in town and cherished the memories of her childhood.
Mom has always enjoyed music. Her mother sang almost all the time while working. Most of the songs her mother sang were church hymns. The best remembered ones were “Have I Done Any Good in the World Today”, “Let’s be Kind to One Another” and “Love at Home”. Her father also sang a lot and whistled. Mom took piano lessons, played the alto saxophone and sang in choirs throughout her life.
As Mom’s birthday was in December the regular water hole where baptisms usually took place was frozen over, so when mom turned eight she was baptized in the beautiful baptismal font of the St. George Temple. She was impressed by the whiteness, the oxen and the reverent feeling of the temple. Her testimony grew in primary and when she turned twelve she was active in the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association. The talks that she gave and the other parts she took in church activities helped increase her testimony and gain confidence in herself.
Mom belonged to many 4-H groups: sewing, cooking, canning, stitchery, gardening and home improvement clubs. She won at the State level in food preservation and traveled by train to the National 4-H Convention in Chicago. She served as a 4-H leader for eight years.
Her Uncle LeGrande had a beautiful fruit orchard and Mom recalls many summers going to Toquerville, in southern Utah, to get fruit to can. They would pick fruit all morning and then can fruit all day.
When Mom was 14 until she was 18 she was a waitress at Fay’s Cafe and Freezer Cafe in Mesquite and Glendale Restaurant in Glendale.
At Virgin Valley High School in Bunkerville, Mom held a variety of positions. She was Vice President of Pep Club, District President of FHA, editor of the school paper, she was the yearbook photo editor, played the saxophone in the school marching band, was President of the Junior Class and Secretary/Treasurer of the Senior Class. She graduated from Virgin Valley High School in 1952 with a class of 11 graduates, many were her cousins, all were very dear friends.
Following graduation Mom attended the University of Nevada in Reno majoring in Home Economics. While there she worked in the university cafeteria and was active in the institute of religion where A. Theodore Tuttle was institute director.
Between 1953 and 1956 Mom attended Utah State University in Logan where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in the school of Home Economics and Family Living. She also received her teaching certification. During her summers while attending college Mom was the Assistant Home Agent in Clark County.
Mom became the Home Agent in Churchill County in 1956. Mom had 12 adult Homemaking Clubs and many 4-H clubs. Mom stayed busy during this time when the 4-H County Fairs were big events with most of the young people in Churchill County involved.
My parents met for a blind date on November 17, 1956 when Mom’s usual square dance partner couldn’t attend Dad was invited to fill-in. Dad had called square dancing for 4-H groups and Mom had taken square dancing at college as one of her P.E. classes. They had a wonderful evening dancing and watching the total eclipse of the full moon. They saw each other every day after that. Mom was the MIA sports director and Dad helped with the activities. Dad attended church with Mom and they attended weekly missionary discussions together.
On February 12, 1957, while attending a church Valentines social, Dad asked Mom to go for a ride. They went to the top of Rattlesnake Hill and it was there that Dad asked Mom to marry him in the temple. Dad understood that he would have to wait a year after he was baptized to enter the temple. After Dad’s baptism as a member of the church on April 6th, 1957, Dad along with his brother Jim, began to build Dad and Mom’s home. A year later, on April 19, 1958 my parents were married in Fallon and then on April 22nd they were sealed in the St. George Temple.
Dad farmed and dairyed with his brother Jim and their father Otto on their 160 acre ranch located 7 miles east of Fallon. They milked 35 cows in a small dairy barn located a quarter mile north of their home. Mom continued to work as County Home Agent until early December 1958. About two months later their first child was born.
John and Nancy Perazzo are the parents of five children: David, Teresa, Alan, Glen and Kathy.
In 1966, when I was three years old, Mom taught first grade for one year and found great joy in teaching the children to read. During that year she became pregnant with my younger sister Kathy and Mom took a year off from teaching. After a years leave, Mom was asked to return the following year to teach in the Kindergarten program which was added to the school district. Mom taught Kindergarten only in the afternoons sharing a room with another teacher for 12 years. This was great for raising a family.
Mom helped write the first State Kindergarten Curriculum Guide and served on various committees some of which were Reading, Insurance, In-Service and Math. She was chosen as Cottage School “Teacher of the Year” six times.
Mom enjoyed teaching school, she enjoyed her students most of all. In several instances Mom continued to receive children from the same families. She enjoyed having the children return to visit over the years. She received graduation announcements, wedding and baby announcements and letters to know of their successes in life.
During these years we had wonderful family time together. Our family vacations were spent camping at Lake Tahoe, Grover Hot Springs, Donner Lake, and Lake Almanor near Chester, California, We have enjoyed boating, water skiing, and family activities on the water in our canoe. We enjoyed many 4th of July celebrations in Jim and Margaret’s beautiful home and yard. Many games of pinochle, rummy, hearts, spades and canasta were played on card tables that followed the shade around the tree.
In August 1992, after teaching a total of 25 years, Mom chose to retire from the teaching profession as Dad had semi-retired from the dairy.
That fall, in September 1992, Dad and Mom began their service as missionaries in the Texas Fort Worth Mission with President Darrell Foote and Sister Barbara Foote. They had a wonderful experience taking care of responsibilities in the Mission Office during the day and then teaching missionary lessons in the evening.
After their mission, Mom spent the next couple years spending time with family in both Fallon and southern Nevada. During this time my Mom’s sister Drexel Hafen was having health problems and Mom spent time with Aunt Drexel and took her to the temple in San Diego where a childhood friend was Temple Matron. Mom also spent time with with her Mama. Mom shared that she learned to cook, sew, can, crochet, garden and do genealogy and quilt making from her mother. She learned to be very prudent and industrious. Her mother worked hard all her life and taught all her children to do the same. Her mother taught her to be involved in good things and to give service. She taught that whatever she did to do her best and the Lord would help. Her mother taught her the importance of being temple worthy and having a temple recommend. These same skills and values that my grandmother taught my mother have been passed on to succeeding generations.
While serving their mission in Texas, my parents purchased from the mission a 15 passenger van to use for temple trips. Mom and Dad took over 60 trips and traveled to 16 different temples with the van filled with members from the two Fallon Stakes. Dad served at the time as director of the Fallon Nevada Stake Family History Center and accompanied many members to Oakland to do temple work for their ancestors. Mom and Dad loved family history research and temple work.
Mom and Dad received a mission call to serve an 18 month proselytizing mission in the California Oakland Mission on December 2, 1996. Nine days later they entered the MTC in Provo, Utah. Mom and Dad had a wonderful time sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the wonderful, searching brothers and sisters in Daly City and San Francisco. During this time the San Francisco Mission was created and Mom and Dad were transferred to work in the new mission office. This was an exciting time as they had 145 missionaries from 20 countries speaking 15 languages. This mission ended in May 1998.
After returning home from their mission Mom and Dad continued working in the family history center in Fallon. Their lives changed again when President Hinckley surprised my parents with a telephone call two weeks before the Reno Temple dedication and called Dad to serve in the Reno Nevada Temple Presidency as Second Counselor with President Darrell Foote and First Counselor Neal Minetto. Mom served as Assistant to the Matron. Dad and Mom loved their time serving in the temple presidency and their many years as temple workers. They loved the wonderful friends they made though their temple service.
John and Nancy agreed early, even before their marriage, that the Celestial Kingdom would be their goal and focus of their life together. Their love of Jesus Christ deepened their love for each other, so that, family, church, community service and professions each took a proper place in their life. They taught their children to pray and study the scriptures. Weekly Family Home Evenings brought love and unity and order to our home. Mom felt great joy when all five children and their spouses were in the Oakland Temple together for Kathy and Gary’s sealing in 1992.
Mom had various callings in the church. Mom served as the MIA Sports Director, ward librarian, stake missionary, Sunday School teacher and coordinator, and in the Stake Spanish extraction program. She served in the Primary as a teacher, and President of the Ward and Stake Primary. At various times Mom served as Ward and Stake Relief Society President. Mom was a loyal and faithful Visiting Teacher -- ministering to the sisters that she taught. And as previously mentioned, Mom served as a missionary and temple worker.
Mom was an avid supporter of her children and grandchildren’s activities. Mom attended many football and baseball games, choir and band concerts, dance recitals, wrestling and tennis matches, plays and musicals. Mom supported her daughters and granddaughters in their Young Women’s Personal Progress and helped all three of her sons and many grandsons advance in scouting to become Eagle Scouts.
Mom’s hobbies and interests included square dancing, genealogy, photography, sewing, gardening, family, friends and giving service to others. Mom loved her family, she loved our savior, and she loved the temple.
My parents were asked to speak in the Fallon 2nd Ward Sacrament meeting the week before this past General Conference. They wrote their talks with an Easter message. Dad’s talk was about the resurrection. The talk that mom wrote was about the temple. About the eternal nature of families and sealing of families together. That we can make a difference and be Saviors on Mount Zion each time we go to the temple.
When Mom was 14 years old she needed to memorize a poem for school and for a Young Women’s requirement. Her mother suggested a poem by Edgar A. Guest entitled “Myself”. About the poem mom wrote:
“This poem is a beautiful example of the struggle all of us have, to be true to ourselves and pleasing to God. It has had a great impact on my life. This is what being free means to me . . . utter transparency with oneself. If I can be honest with myself, then I can be honest with everyone else as well; having integrity. It has helped me make important decisions. It has helped me be who I am.”
MYSELF by Edgar A. Guest
“I have to live with myself and so
I want to be fit for myself to know.
I want to be able as days go by,
always to look myself straight in the eye;
I don't want to stand with the setting sun
and hate myself for the things I have done.
I don't want to keep on a closet shelf
a lot of secrets about myself
and fool myself as I come and go
into thinking no one else will ever know
the kind of person I really am,
I don't want to dress up myself in sham.
I want to go out with my head erect
I want to deserve all men's respect;
but here in the struggle for fame and wealth
I want to be able to like myself.
I don't want to look at myself and know that
I am bluster and bluff and empty show.
I never can hide myself from me;
I see what others may never see;
I know what others may never know,
I never can fool myself and so,
whatever happens I want to be
self respecting and conscience free.”
My mother lived her life full of integrity. Dyed in the wool, true blue, through and through. A wonderful example to emulate. She was a wonderful mother, wonderful wife, teacher, friend, servant and follower of Jesus Christ.
Nancy Audrey Adams Perazzo passed away peacefully on the morning of Friday, May 11, 2018 in Fallon, Nevada. Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Drexel Hafen, brother Wayne Adams, grandson Adam Perazzo, and grandson-in-law Jon Scott.
Nancy is survived by her loving husband John, five children: sons David, Alan, and Glen Perazzo and daughters Teresa Loveland and Kathy Jamieson, sisters Norma Hall and Marilyn Baier and brother Calvin Adams, and brother-in-law Jim Perazzo, 26 grandchildren, and 36 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
We love you mom!
Delivered by Glen Perazzo on May 14, 2018
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