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- “Inspired by her great-uncle, Cocoa Oloran Traylor, a choir and band director, at an early age Nancy developed a passion for music, and was involved in both performing and teaching throughout her life. She began her education at the one-room Sinai School near her childhood home, and continued at Greenville High School. Keen to develop her clear soprano voice, she attended Greenville College, majoring in vocal performance and music education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956.
“That same year she married Ormand John Lefever, a ministerial and education student from Pana, Illinois who also attended Greenville College. Together they followed a path of teaching and ministering for the spiritual edification of others.
“Nancy, in particular, worked at the National Music Camp, Interlochen, Michigan in the late 1950s, and taught music in both public and private schools in Illinois, North Carolina, and Michigan.
“But perhaps her most rewarding service, from 1956 to 2012 was directing choirs including those of Auburn Public Schools, Auburn, Illinois; Altamont Public Schools, Altamont, Illinois; Bond County Community Schools, Greenville, Illinois; First Baptist Church, Pana, Illinois; Tabernacle Baptist Church and Wilson Christian Academy, Wilson, North Carolina; First Baptist Church, Holland, Michigan; Community Reformed Church, Zeeland, Michigan; Overisel Reformed Church, Overisel, Michigan; First Reformed Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan; and First Baptist Church, Plainwell, Michigan.
“She was a member of the Holland Chorale in Holland, Michigan in the 1980s and 1990s, which provided her with the opportunity to perform solos for major American and British directors and composers. As a member of Holland's Evergreen Chorale in the 2000s, twice she toured with the group and sang in cathedrals and churches from Italy to France, Germany, and The Netherlands.
“Husband Ormand passed away in 1994, and Nancy continued being active in her community, gardening, and living in her home on the Kalamazoo River in Plainwell. In 2012 she retired from choir directing and moved from Michigan to Maine to be near her children.” [1]
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