Nancy Lee Lamb, age 78, of Gladwin, passed away on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. She was born on March 2, 1947, the daughter of James and Laura (Clark) Clifford, in Flint, MI. She met the love of her life, Phillip Lamb, at U of M Flint; they married over spring break in their senior year.
They had 56 years together and spent nearly 45 of them in their house in Gladwin -- the one with the garden so beautifully designed, and so lovingly maintained, people insisted Nancy give tours of the place.
Crafts were a passion: while daughters Shelly and Cheryl were growing up, Nancy was making outlandish Halloween costumes; her daughters were made over into witches and round clowns.
After the costumes came the quilts, the garden sculpture, the diamond painting – Hobby Craft didn’t have a single aisle she didn’t know on a personal level. There’s a crafting club that will sorely miss her enthusiasm and companionship. Her daughters would wake up in the morning to freshly painted rooms and magically mended furniture and toys. Her husband Phil is a woodworker; he knows how to make things. Nancy had a quiet, exceptional ability to understand how things worked.
Nancy knew what mischief was -- she once got 16-year-old Cheryl ‘arrested’ for fun over an Ashcraft’s iced cappuccino mishap. But her mischievous side revealed itself far more through her incredible tolerance of other people. It wasn’t what you thought, it was the quality of your character she cared about, and for many years, as a teacher at Sacred Heart, Flint Carmen-Ainsworth, and Lapeer, where she taught kindergarten and preschool, she worked hard to bring out the best in people. Then she came home and got to work on her children, including Phil. Her love of family was deep and she was profoundly proud of her grandchildren, Zack and Ren.
Her closest friend, her companion for decades, was her own younger sister, Debbie. Nancy threw herself into family Christmases to the point where the basement had to be remodelled to hold all the decorations and 6 (!!) Christmas trees. And when she was on her own, Nancy read everything, from history to horror, usually with a dog on her lap.
Nancy loved to travel, but every year came back, again and again, to one small rock in Georgian Bay. Every summer, for over twenty years, Nancy and Phil would visit Shelly’s in-laws on Rockall Island and Nancy would sit chatting and reading, waiting for the sunset. After her own garden, this was the scene Nancy said she loved the most. She adored the light.
She is survived by her beloved husband: Phillip; daughters: Michelle (Jeremy) Towne and Cheryl (Simon) Ings; grandchildren: Zachary Towne and Lawrence Bresnark; furry best friend: Wally; sister: Debbie (Bob) Rowe; brother-in-laws: Bob Blum, Lonnie Hyatt, and Arthur (Jim) Lamb; along with several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters, Patricia Blum and Joyce Hyatt.
Honoring her wishes, cremation has taken place. Visitation will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 3:00 -7:00 P.M. at Hall-Kokotovich Funeral Home in Gladwin. Arrangements are in the care of Hall-Kokotovich funeral Home. www.hallkokotovichfuneralhome.com
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