Nancy Hester's Obituary
Nancy Hester entered into her eternal home on Sunday, August 13, 2023, at the age of 77 years, in Lake Charles with her family by her side. Nancy was born on November 9, 1945, in DeRidder to James Watson and Neatha Miers Beck.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 17, 2023, from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Hopewell Baptist Church. Funeral Service will be held on Friday, August 18, 2023, starting a 10:00 AM with a visitation starting at 9:00 AM at the church with Rev. Ron Hemphill officiating. Interment will follow at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in DeRidder, LA. Funeral Services under the care and direction of Labby Memorial Funeral Home in DeRidder.
Nancy grew up in Rosepine Louisiana. She attended school at Rosepine. She played the snare drum in the band. Nancy left schooling after the 11th grade to marry the love of her life. Nancy and Joe knew each other at a young age due to family visiting friends in the area where Nancy and Joe would build their life together. They were married at Cile Church on July 26, 1963. They just had their 60th wedding anniversary. They had their first son the following year and began to build the home where they still live. After a couple of years, their second son was born. They wanted to have three children and the third to be a girl, but when traveling back home, they needed some gas and the only money they had was three Silver Dollars that they were saving to give, one to each child. They spent the one Silver Dollar for gas so the saying was, “they could only have the two boys”. Nancy was a homemaker and provided for her family, not only in cooking and cleaning but in love. She had friends that would all get together at each other’s homes while the husbands were at work. They would cook, clean and spend time together joking and laughing, living life to the fullest. Maybe once a week or so, they would look forward to going to get a malt at Hillman’s Drive Inn on payday. Nancy was very creative in finding ways to make things seem more than what it was. Her home was where a lot of the family would come when visiting from out of town. Many fond memories were made, lots of laughter and love. She was always cooking great meals and would make sure everyone had enough. All the neighborhood boys, mostly cousins would hang out at their home. The boys camped out in the back yard and played all kind of sports in which Nancy would even play. She always made sure there were snacks and drinks. Nancy wanted to become a beautician, so she attended school to reach that goal. Once that was completed and she started to work, she realized that home was where her heart was. So, she left work and did the beautician work from home. Something she did even recently, cutting family members hair.
As the boys grew, married and had children, she became Mamaw. She was surely loved by her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She played a vital role in their upbringing by keeping them whenever possible. There was never a dull moment when she was in the picture. She taught the children simple things by making them special educational toys that she made by hand. She did crafts with them and implemented ideas to help them learn basic fundamentals at a young age. She made all kinds of dresses and outfits so the girls could play dress up. She made special shirts for the boys and other items like flags and space suits that even looked like the ones they wore on Star Trek. Mamaw was very creative, had tons of cool ideas and will be missed greatly by these children. All the children always say that they want to go to, “Mamaw’s House”. Once the grandchildren were older, Nancy worked at the school cafeteria to give her something to do and not be at home in an empty house. Probably she did this to be near the grandchildren who were going to the school she worked at.
Nancy never met a stranger. Joe would say it would take her 5 hours just to go get something at Walmart. She would always find someone that needed help and offer her time to them. After the hurricane, the out of state workers would be working on the lines. She cooked them food and had them come eat. It wasn’t long before more and more stopped by for a hot meal. She welcomed them all.
Nancy was a patriot and loved her country. She supported the military families that came through the area and befriended many of them. She opened her home and had some families stay with them. Most of these have stayed in contact with Nancy because of her hospitality and the impression she made in their lives.
Nancy would volunteer her time to cook food and serve at benefits, church functions, giving out boxes of food for the needy, vacation bible school or teaching Sunday school class. She truly had a servant’s heart.
Nancy loved gardening and flowering. She and Joe were always working in the yard, keeping things nice and neat. She was very organized and kept things straight and clean in the house. Most people that would come in and knew Nancy would say, “Her floors are so clean you could eat off of them”.
Nancy spent most of her later years with her husband Joe. Rarely would you see them apart unless he was at work, or she was at Walmart. They did most everything else together. Working in the yard, spending time cooking and washing dishes together. Then they would sit and watch television shows and eat popcorn together. But every night, they would read the Bible and pray together before going to bed. This was most important thing that they did.
Just prior to her passing, Nancy didn’t feel the best. One issue was taken care and she felt better. But then she would feel tired at times. She went in to see her doctor and he told her she had a mild heart attack. She went to have a test done to see if blockage was present, it was, and surgery was required. She ended up having a quadruple bypass surgery which went well. Her recovery was miraculous. The doctors were amazed at how fast she bounced back. She progressed without much pain and after a few days, she was to be released from the hospital. On the day she was being released; she was sitting in the recliner doing an inhaler treatment, waiting for discharge papers, when she simply just nodded her head like she was sleepy in which she passed on to the other side. She never said a word or made a sound. The doctor was shocked that this had happened as was everyone else, considering how fast she recovered and how good she was doing. But he said that a blood clot had moved and lodged in her lung which caused her to immediately leave this world.
Nancy’s faith was in God. She knew where she was going but didn’t know when. So much so that she told several of her family members before the surgery, “that if I don’t see you when I come out, I will see you on the other side”. She had a peace in her heart that was seen in her eyes and could be heard in her voice.
She loved life and lived it to the fullest. She will be missed by many and will leave a vacant spot that can’t be filled.
We do not understand, nor can we comprehend why this happened this way, but we have what Nancy would point us to:
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4
Left to cherish her memory is her loving husband of 60 years, Joe Hester of DeRidder; two sons, Joe Hester, Jr., and Paul Hester and wife Dorothy both of DeRidder; brother, Leon Beck of DeRidder; two sisters, Lillian Bridges, and Mary Isaac both of DeRidder; four grandchildren, Canaan Hester of Baton Rouge, Luke Hester and wife Jennifer of Baton Rouge, Jessie Hester and wife Ariel of Guthrie, OK, and Justine Van De Water and husband of Justin of Moore, OK; six great-grandchildren, Jayden Van De Water, Jessica Van De Water, Joanna Van De Water, Josephine Van De Water, Aren Hester, and Ayden Hester, and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends.
Preceded in death by her parents, James and Neatha Beck; two brothers, Jake Beck and Larry Beck; sister, Margie Carroll.
The family requests that all those attending the service to please wear bright and vibrant colors and casual.
Those honored to serve as pallbearers are, Canaan Hester, Luke Hester, Scott Chapman, Gary Magouh, Josh Bailey, and Greg Gray.
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