Betty "Kay" Nance Townsend

Betty Kay Nance Townsend, 83 passed into God’s loving arms August 27, 2023. Kay was born September 13, 1939, in Odessa TX to loving parents James Bennett Nance and Evelyn Weems Woosley.  She grew up playing with her brother, visiting grandparents in Coleman and Trenton Texas and being a Girl Scout.  In high school she enjoyed band, twirling and swimming.  Being a lifeguard led her to attend a camp for instructors at Lake of the Ozarks where she met her future husband, Alan Sherrill Platt.  They enjoyed camping, canoeing and refinishing antiques together. One of their big adventures was to move their family to Nigeria for Alan to work for the International Committee of the Red Cross in famine relief efforts during the Biafran War. At the end of their marriage, Kay finished her B.A. Degree from UT El Paso and started her career as a fierce auditor for the State of Texas. Later she met and married Lester Townsend with whom she enjoyed sports car rallies and whitewater rafting. Her car rally skills earned her the nickname ‘Nana Andretti’. 

In her retirement years, Kay turned her sleuthing talents from sniffing out fraud to sniffing out her family’s genealogical record.  Visiting old court houses and small libraries across the south were great excuses to take road trips and explore areas off the beaten path.  She enjoyed sharing her findings with her brother and her cousin Patricia. She later moved to Farmington NM to be close and watch her youngest grandchild grow up.  In these years she renewed her interest in reading history, gardening, and painting. 

Kay is survived by her three daughters, Deborah Carol Skorepa of Plano, Margaret Evelyn Edmonds, an RV nomad, and Julie Kay Baird and her husband Steve of Farmington NM; brother James Bennett Nance II and his wife Norma and cousin Patricia Bailey. She leaves behind 5 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren, many nieces, and nephews and three grand fur babies. A special thank you goes to her son-in-law Steve Baird for his assistance all these years.

The family would like to thank Southwest Oncology and St. Michael’s Namaste House for their support and care of Kay and her family.  Kay’s final resting place will be in the Nance family plot in Coleman Tx. 

In Lieu of flowers, the Family has asked that donations be made to the Journey of Hope foundation with Mercy Hospital in Durango, Colorado. You can make a donation by visiting centura.org/mercy-hospital-foundation or by calling  (970)764-2804.