Nancy Jo Toce

Nancy Jo Toce passed away on May 30, 2023. She was born on August 2, 1944 in Saint Louis, Missouri to Joseph and Mayme Finch Portell. When she was 5 years old, one of Jehovah's Witnesses visited her mother and her. Her mother exclaimed that she had found the truth after reading one Watchtower, and Nancy took what she heard to heart by immediately sharing it with her playmate who lived down the street.
When Nancy was 5 1/2 years old, she moved to Anutt, Missouri with her parents. Since Nancy was an only child, she would play in the woods and local cementry where her grandparents were buried. She could imagine God's voice calling and her grandparents hearing it and being resurrected (Job 14:14, 15).
Nancy was always unwell, even as a child. When she was 16 years old, she was admitted to the University Medical Center in Columbia, Missouri, where she stayed for 13 months. Only a few days after she was released, she attended a circuit assembly and was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses on December 2, 1961. She was then determined to serve her God Jehovah despite extreme physical pain and illness (Galations 4:13). She endevored her whole life to be like a sponge by releasing Bible truths where ever she went to everyone she came in contact with.
On August 22, 1987, she was joined in marriage to John Joseph Toce. It was through John that Nancy developed her love of birds, especially cockatiels. John preceded Nancy in death.
Throughout Nancy's life, Jehovah was always real to her. She especially saw his qualities in creation. She had a
special opportunity to see these qualities since Nancy was an avid gardener. She delighted in Jehovah's creation and looked forward to praising him forever in his new system to come!