Nancy Lee Lampkin Casteel

Nancy Lee Lampkin Casteel, age 87, died peacefully at Rolling Green Village in Greenville, South Carolina. Beloved as a wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and aunt, Nancy was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and lived in Raleigh before moving to Knoxville as a second grader. She graduated from Bearden High School, where she was on the tumbling team and a top student. She attended Carson-Newman College.
Nancy became a follower of Christ as a young teenager, when she and her older sister, Marie, would ride the city bus across town to attend "the red cross church." From high school onward, she was a faithful, active member of Central Baptist Bearden, where she met her husband, Paul. They were married for more than 65 years.
Nancy loved children and had a childlike sense of wonder (and mischief) herself. She could make magic happen with nothing, making paper boats and hats from newspaper, whistling through blades of grass, baking cookies at a moment's notice. She couldn't carry a tune to save her life, but she played the piano well, and she knew the words and motions to every children's song ever written. Nancy taught three-year olds at the weekday preschool at Central Baptist for twenty-three years, and she taught second-grade Sunday School, seldom missing a Sunday, for more than twenty years. She taught Vacation Bible School for at least that long, as well.
Nancy was whip smart and funny, and she had a heart for the disadvantaged and underserved. She loved volunteering and supporting Mission of Hope and Hand UP for Women in Knoxville. She treasured her family and her friends, keeping a weekly lunch date with the same circle of ladies, "The Lunch Bunch," for almost 40 years. She loved to travel, to read, and to spend time spoiling each of her grandchildren.
Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Paul, and their beloved son, Gary. She is survived by her daughter, Paula Angermeier, and her husband, Tom, and their children, Ted and his wife, Brooke; Joe and his wife, Mary; and her favorite granddaughter, Louisa; along with her daughter-in-law Karen (Casteel) Byrge and her husband, Jim and Ethan Lee Casteel, the youngest grandchild, who brought so much joy to her life. Countless church friends sent their love during her last years with cards, phone calls, and letters.
A service will be held to commemorate her life on Friday, November 14, at Rose Funeral and Cremation - Mann, 6200 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. The family will receive friends from 11:30 am to noon with the service following. Interment will follow at Edgewood Cemetery, 219 S. Gallaher View Road. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Henry and Bobbie Chiles Mission Endowment Fund care of Central Baptist Church of Bearden, 6300 Deane Hill Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919. Online condolences may be made at www.rosefuneraltn.com