Nancy Kolb Bruce

Nancy Kolb Bruce, 70, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 6, 2026—her 70th birthday—after a series of compounding medical setbacks. She was born on March 6, 1956, in Maben, Mississippi, at the Maben Clinic, to Wister Ezra Kolb and Nell Hubbard Kolb. She was a tiny baby, so small that a family member asked Nell why she couldn’t produce normal-sized babies. Nell’s reply: “The best jewels come in small packages.” She was right.

Nancy was the youngest of seven children, and her family doted on her. The Kolbs came from very humble means—Nancy and her siblings vividly recalled their collective joy when they moved into their first house with indoor plumbing. Her father, Wister, passed away when she was ten years old. But long before he passed, her older siblings had stepped in to help raise and provide for her. Her brother, Lamar, bought Nancy her first tricycle after she needed stitches for the first time, and later bought her first bicycle and car. Her siblings all cared for her in much the same way—including her “bossy” sister, Patricia, who became her guide, her stalwart, and her constant, and who was by her side until the very end. She clung closely to her mother and adored every one of her siblings. It was the kind of family where people looked out for one another, no questions asked. The passing of her older siblings cut her deeply.

Her mother, Nell—known to the grandchildren as Meemaw—was a humble, quiet, and deeply sweet woman who never remarried after Wister’s death. When someone once asked Nell if she’d ever marry again, she replied simply: “I will never have another man walking or riding.”

Nancy graduated from Mathiston High School in 1974, where she was a cheerleader and was elected Most Beautiful and Miss Mathiston High School by her classmates. Her future husband’s claim that she was the prettiest girl in Mathiston—and quite possibly the world—was, it turns out, not just his opinion. It was practically official.

In the summer of 1975, Nancy was at a softball game in Mathiston with friends when she spotted a young man she’d had her eye on for a while. She enlisted a mutual friend, Sheryl Shurden, to ask if he’d be interested in meeting her. He didn’t hesitate, and later that evening joined Nancy and some friends in a car, sitting right next to her. She told him she’d been wanting to get to know him better. He’d been a little apprehensive—he was 24 and she was 19—but that night, riding around with friends, something clicked. Bud was overwhelmed by her beauty, warmth, charm, and down-to-earth nature.

They dated for eleven months. When they talked about getting married in August, Nancy said no—June would be better. And that was that. As her family well knew, when Nancy made up her mind about something, the matter was settled.

Nancy and Bud were married on June 5, 1976, at First Baptist Church in Mathiston. Their honeymoon was a modest but perfect affair: a dinner and a one-night stay in a Jackson motel with a six-pack of beer, and a trip to the zoo the next morning. According to Bud, it was then that Nancy realized she had hit the big time. They headed home the same day to begin their life together in a little house on Plum Drive in Starkville. Thus began a lifelong partnership that lasted four months shy of fifty years. Bud is a gem of a man, and together they were a formidable team—in parenting, in faith, and in life.

The Bruces moved from Starkville to Tupelo, where their first child, Kevin, was born in 1978. Staci followed, and then David—all three of them big, healthy babies that Nancy, not a large woman herself, brought into the world with the same determination she brought to everything else. The family made their home in several places over the years— first Tupelo, and then Gulfport, where they lived a couple of blocks off the beach. When Ford Motor Credit once offered Bud a choice of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, or Shreveport for their next move, Nancy made the decision simple: “If you go to New Orleans, you’re going by yourself.” They moved to Shreveport in 1988. Wherever they were, Nancy made it home.

Nancy was a meticulous and devoted mother. Every bottle was prepared just so, every outfit washed and folded with care. When Bud was transferred from Tupelo to Biloxi and the family had not yet relocated, Nancy held things down in Tupelo on her own—pregnant with David, managing two small children, and still making sure Kevin got to his T-ball games. Everyone said she should come stay in Mathiston where family could help, but Nancy thought she could handle it. She was right. And when Hurricane Elena bore down on Gulfport in 1985, she called Bud at the office and said, “The kids and me are headed to Mathiston. If you want to go with us, you better be home in an hour.” That was Nancy. She didn’t wait for a plan. She was the plan.

Faith was foundational in the Bruce family, and Nancy and Bud didn’t just talk about it—they taught it. Noel Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport was their church home for thirty years and a central part of their family life. They had previously teamed up to lead children’s church at Cowan Road Baptist Church in Gulfport, and later taught Sunday school at Noel. Former students still talk about their class. Nancy and Bud shared the teaching, and Bud handled the accountability. The assignment was to memorize the books of the Bible in order, and at the end of class, for every book you missed, you owed Bud push-ups. A great example of their dynamism as a team.

Nancy’s talents and gifts were wide-ranging. She was resourceful and artistic—a true creative. She had a unique gift for craftmaking: wooden cutouts that she would paint, festive earrings and jewelry that she would sell at holiday markets. She was the greatest resource a kid could hope for when it came to social studies and science fairs, and the chief engineer on home projects—whether putting together swing sets, assembling toys, or tackling whatever else needed doing.

She relished her children’s accomplishments and milestones: at school, in sports, and in their faith. Her children cannot remember her ever missing a game, an awards ceremony, or any other event. She showed up, every time. She was a constant presence and volunteer at University Elementary School, Youree Drive Middle School, and Captain Shreve High School as her children made their way through school. Her children thrived and excelled at each stop, and Nancy had a lifelong appreciation for the teachers and coaches who helped mold them along the way.

She was funny, tough, and feisty. She was also very competitive and pushed her children hard on academics, extracurriculars, and everything in between. Kevin recalls that she never let him win at anything—chess, checkers, Sorry, it didn’t matter. There were no participation trophies in Nancy’s house. The lesson was clear: you have to earn the right to experience the fulfillment of real achievement. Her children took that lesson and ran with it: Kevin and David were both named Mr. Captain Shreve High School, Staci was named homecoming queen and elected student council president, and all three would go on to earn college scholarships and graduate degrees. Nancy relished every one of those moments and many more—not because of the titles, but because her kids had earned them.

She loved each of her children in the way they needed to be loved. She saw Kevin for exactly who he was—and loved him for it. Staci was her best friend and traveling companion, and she loved her fiercely, with a love that never wavered. And David was her baby—no matter how tall he got or how strong he became, he was always her baby, and she held him a little closer for it. She was so proud of all three of them. She was equally proud of the spouses they chose—Susan and Mary—whom she loved as her own and who gave her the greatest gift of her life: her grandchildren.

The brightest season of her life began on September 6, 2013, with the birth of her first grandchild, Caroline. Nay Nay and Buddy were at the hospital to welcome seven more grandchildren to the world over the next ten years: Sutton, Jack, Collins, William, Rex, Juliette, and Charlotte.

Her grandchildren were not just the joy of her life—they were its crowning purpose. Everything Nancy had been as a mother—the showing up, the fierceness, the tenderness—she poured into them tenfold, with the added wisdom of a woman who understood how fast it all goes. She delighted in every milestone, every visit, every phone call. To her grandchildren, Nay Nay was a safe place, a warm place, and an endlessly fun place to be. She was an expert backscratcher, Go Fish partner, and arts and crafts teacher. Nay Nay always reminded her grandbabies that she loved them a “bushel, a peck, and a hug around the neck.”

She spent her twilight years in Trussville, Alabama, where she and Bud moved in 2021 to be closer to David and Staci.

In the fall of 2025, as Nancy’s health began to decline, her family drew close around her. All three of her children came together at her side, and the bonds that had always held them were renewed and strengthened. Nancy spent her final months surrounded by the people she loved most, and she left this world the same way she had lived in it—with her family right there beside her.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Wister Ezra Kolb and Nell Hubbard Kolb; her brother, William Wister Kolb; and her sisters, Peggy Kolb Hartness, Sue Kolb Cook, and Geraldine “Gerri” Kolb Tenhet.

She is survived by her husband of nearly fifty years, Forest Hester “Bud” Bruce of Trussville, Alabama;

her son, Kevin Forest Bruce, and wife, Susan Pecquet Bruce, and their children, Caroline Elizabeth, Sutton Isabelle, William Forest, and Robert Pecquet “Rex” Bruce, of Houston, Texas;

her daughter, Staci Marie Bruce, of Birmingham, Alabama;

her son, David Lee Bruce, and wife, Mary Amari Bruce, and their children, John Forest “Jack,” Collins Marie, Juliet Elizabeth, and Charlotte Claire Bruce, of Trussville, Alabama;

her brother, Lamar Kolb, of Maben, Mississippi;

her sister, Patricia Cochran, of Mathiston, Mississippi;

her sister-in-law, Linda Bruce Elmore, of Jacksonville, Florida;

and numerous beloved nieces, nephews, and friends.

A Visitation will be held at 10:00AM in the fellowship hall of Mathiston First Baptist Church on Saturday, March 14, 2026, followed by a Memorial Service in the sanctuary at 11:00AM. A graveside service will immediately follow at Blythe Creek Cemetery.

A Celebration of Life will follow, starting at 1:30PM at Eupora Country Club. Crawfish and burgers will be served, and dress is casual. All are invited to join in the celebration.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Mathiston First Baptist Church. Donations can be made at the following link. Please select 'In Memory of Nancy Bruce' from the drop-down menu: https://mathistonfbc.org/give

She was the best thing that ever happened to all of us.

Oliver Funeral Home of Eupora is honored to be entrusted with all arrangements for the Bruce family.