Nancy Thorp

1931 - 2018

Nancy Lee

Yelverton Thorp

February 16, 1931 - February 1, 2018

Rocky Mount

Nancy Lee Yelverton Thorp, age 86, departed this life to be with God with gratitude for a blessed life on Thursday, February 1, 2018. Born in Nash County, NC on February 16, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Robert Lee Yelverton and Nancy Gordon Yelverton Shaw. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Lewis Sumner Thorp, M.D.

Nancy loved her family and her Lord. She was very committed to her church and her faith in Christ. Nancy graduated from UNC-Greensboro with a degree in Home Economics. She worked as a grade school teacher in Virginia Beach, VA before returning home to Rocky Mount in 1966. Nancy was a member of First Baptist Church of Rocky Mount. She was also a member in good standing of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sovereign Colonial Society of Americans of Royal Descent, National Society of Magna Carta Dames, The National Society of Colonial Dames XVII Century, Colonial Dames of the Crown, Most Noble Order of the Garter, member of the Roanoke Voyages and Elizabeth II Commission, Order of the First Families of North Carolina, National Society Magna Carta Dames and Barons, The Society of the Descendants of the Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia. Nancy was Miss North Carolina of 1949, and participated in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, NJ. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, sister, and friend, and will be missed by all who knew her.

Nancy leaves behind to cherish her memory, sons, Robert Yelverton Bennett and wife, Sue, David Gordon Thorp, Lewis Sumner Thorp, III and wife, Cindy, William Rowland Thorp and wife, Sherry; daughter, Routh Cooper and husband, Matthew. She is also survived by grandchildren, Rob and Alex Bennett, Erin Buczkowski and husband, Tim, Sarah and Hellen Thorp, Allison Cooper; and great-grandsons, Adrian and Andrew Buczkowski, and great-granddaughter, Coralyn Cooper Genaro; and sister, Sue Yelverton Leggett.

A Funeral Service will be held on Sunday, February 11, 2018 at 2:00 PM at First Baptist Church, 200 S. Church Street, Rocky Mount, with the Rev. Bill Grisham officiating. Burial will follow at Pineview Cemetery. The family will receive friends and relatives on Saturday, February 10, 2018 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Triangle Aphasia Project, 191 High House Road, Cary NC 27511, or to American Heart Association, 3131 RDU Center Drive, Suite 100, Morrisville, NC 27560.

Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com.