In memoriam: Nancy Gasparovic

Written by Ladd Gasparovic

It's with great sadness we announce that our loving, energetic, larger-than- life mother, Nancy Hardin Gasparovic, passed away yesterday in Fredericksburg, VA.

My sister Shannon Gasparovic Christianson and I couldn't have asked for a better mom to raise us and show us what it looked like to succeed in faith, family and in life.

Our children- her grandchildren - couldn't have asked for a "Gigi" to love them more or have more fun with them. Nancy- our mom- was one of a kind. She was the eternal optimist. An always positive force in life that always made things more fun and more interesting! She loved fiercely and deeply - not just our family - but her VAST "extended family" of friends (many of whom we've never even met) that was always and still growing. She never met a stranger! She always made things more fun. She had incredible energy and she could still keep up with the best of them even into her 70's!

She grew up in Beech Creek KY in a house that didn't have indoor plumbing. She won beauty pageants and scholarships to attend college (a first in her family), and put herself on a path to become an extremely successful woman in family, business, life, and in her faith. She put others first all the time. She changed not only her trajectory in life but the rest of her family and impacted and influenced so so many more.

The world is definitely a better place because Nancy Hardin Gasparovic lived in it while she did. She played life BIG while she was here, helping so many people and always giving back to the community and to others in need. She was always helping others. Always.

She taught us and SHOWED us that we could do anything... ANYTHING. And she believed we could. And we believed it because we watched her live life fearlessly and accomplish so many things not just for her or our family, but for others and the community.

I'll miss my mom in so many ways. I owe so much gratitude of who I am and what I have to her influence and passion for life. She was our choir director. She was our music teacher in school. She was so much to so many. She cut a wide path and a deep path.

Most important of all, she's always been a believer- a true Christian. She loved the Lord, and we know she's in heaven wrapped in His arms. She wasn't scared to die. I won't say that she was ready to go, because she loved life so much and I know she would've wanted to hang around longer to watch her grandkids grow older and graduate college and to have more fun in this world. But I can tell you from the conversations we had this year about the ** 2020/pandemic/murder hornets/"is the world possibly ending?"** environment we've been in, she and I had conversations specifically about dying. She told me that if the Lord was really coming in 2020, that she was ready to go! She wasn't scared to die because her faith was strong and she knew who she belonged to. I have faith because she did first and we're continuing to create the generational faith in our family that she helped grow and strengthen. That's a true legacy.

What's the hardest part of losing her now? Those who know her know this... she loved PEOPLE and PARTIES! Her service would've never been a small, stuffy funeral, but a massive Celebration of Life!... A party to celebrate a life that was very well lived. Obviously with COVID and health and safety precautions we won't be able to give her that huge celebration at this time. But it will happen, we promise, when it's safe and possible. And it'll be exactly what she would have wanted: Her friends and family and those who love her, being together, having fun, sharing laughs and memories, making new memories, and sharing the love and joy that life offers us when we share it together.

It sounds cliché, but tell your family and friends you love them. I would give anything to hang out with my mom one more time. But I do know that the last time I spoke to her I ended the call telling her I love her. We always did that. And I know she knew she was loved by me, Shannon and our families, and all of you. And I know she knew she was loved by and belonged to the Lord.
​
Mom, Rest In Peace. We wish you were here longer with us, but we'll go on without you in this world in the way you'd want us to, and we'll continue to live life and create memories and adventures and help others and continue to honor you, our faith and your legacy in all we do.