Nancy Elizabeth West

Miss Nancy E. West passed away November 10, 2007 on her 97th birthday at a Waco Nursing Home. Graveside services are scheduled for 4:00 PM Monday, November 12, 2007 at Jonesboro Cemetery. Nancy was born November 10, 1910 in Waco the only child of Frank E. West a Lawyer, Farmer and one time State Representative and Kate Small West, a School Teacher, both deceased. When Elizabeth was nine years old her family moved to a farm near Jonesboro, Texas on land given and inherited in 1895. Elizabeth inherited the farm when her parents died and continued to operate it until her death. During the school year Elizabeth’s mother taught in Waco. She wanted her daughter to have the advantage of a larger school system and to possess a higher education. When the summer months rolled around the family would live in Coryell and Hamilton counties. Elizabeth was a bright and eager to learn student. She graduated from the University of Texas in 1932 during the very depths of the depression. Following her graduation she tried to find a job. Although she was an honor graduate in Math and Chemistry she was told that ‘Men’ could teach these subjects much better than a woman. She was truly disappointed but she didn’t let this experience stop her from obtaining her goals. A hospital in Waco gave her the opportunity to work in the clinical laboratory and x-ray department for the experience ‘salary’: laundry of her uniforms and lunch. After teaching one year she worked in various hospitals. In February 1939 she came to what was the Harris Clinic. in Fort Worth, later called Fifth Avenue Clinic and now non-existent. She was employed there for 37 years as a medical technologist. Miss West is survived by several first cousins.