Nora K Menasco

Nora K. Menasco of Pass Christian, MS, age 79, passed away peacefully at her home on June 29th, surrounded by family and all of the love this world can offer. Born – Orchard, AL to Edward Sr. and Emma Kelly. She graduated from Theodore High School where she was in the Beta Club and a majorette. She spent 56 years with the love of her life, William “Buck” Menasco. Together they raised four children: Cindy Salter (Bruce), Robert “Bobby” Menasco (Susan), Donna Powell and Lori Mullins (Scott). She had seven grandchildren: Chase Danley (Jessica), Brittany Powell, Heather Hall (Adam), Chris Mullins (Ashleigh), Brandon Powell, Michael Mullins (Heather) and Hannah Powell. She was a greatgrandmother to four great-grandchildren: Phillip Danley, Alexis Danley, Peyton Mullins and Noah Hall along with many step grandchildren and step great-grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Bobby Menasco, Chris Mullins, Brandon Powell, Michael Mullins, Scott Mullins, Byron Roberts and honorary pallbearer, Chase Danley. Visitation will be held on Sunday, July 7th, 2019 from 5-7pm at Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home 1726 15th Street, Gulfport, MS 39501. Funeral Service will be held on Monday, July 8th, 2019 at 12pm at BradfordO’Keefe Funeral Home. Private burial to follow at Biloxi National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to New Life Baptist Church, 6019 Road 312, Kiln, MS 39556 or Michael J Fox Organization. She was a loving wife, devoted mother and caring grandmother, our grandmother. Nanny devoted her life to serving God and putting our grandfather and her family before herself. She put most people before herself. Nanny always made sure that no one in a 5-mile radius went hungry. When supper was ready, everyone knew that they had an open invitation to Buck and Nora’s for dinner. She was a teacher in the kitchen. It’s because of her, that many gravies are smooth and dressings aren’t dry. Because no one likes dry dressing. But don’t dare ask for a recipe, because she didn’t write it down and she didn’t measure. A dash of this and a pinch of that. She loved to cook, and man, was she good at it. Now there is a debate going on with the grandkids on which meal was the best. We’re taking a poll on her chicken and rice, brisket, and fried fish. Of course, every meal was washed down with cornbread and kool-aid. Nanny loved travel. Her and PawPaw made many trips across the US and Canada. On one trip, they waded across the Headwaters of the Mississippi River. They took many family vacations with their kids. From Disney World to South Carolina to Corpus Christi. We remember a road trip that we took with Nanny to Austin, Texas. She woke us up early one morning and had us plan our trip. We grabbed a map, not an iphone, or gps, but an actual paper map with longitude and latitude, and highlighted our route. We listened to her books on tape that she would rent from Cracker Barrel and took turns being the navigator of the trip for Nanny, yelling out how many miles until our next turn. Nanny and PawPaw owned and ran Buckeye Landing marina on Toledo Bend Lake for 25 years. Nanny was instrumental in growing the business to a success, which is still thriving today and owned by Cindy and her family. Us grandkids have many, many memories at the park. They would give us a $5 tab to spend at the store. Well $5, unless Nanny was around. Then we got what we wanted, because Nanny said so. It was usually a chocolate soldier and a honeybun. Oh, and we always were allowed ice cream after dinner. I always went for the screwball. Who didn’t love the free gumball you got at the end?! She would also hand off one can of corn a week, for us to go fishing. If you haven’t fished with corn kernels, you’re missing out! We would always walk around like we were important people in that park. Introducing ourselves to vacationers and tenants as “Buck and Nora’s” grandkids and thinking we were the big man on campus because BAM! Buck and Nora are our grandparents. PawPaw had a pool put in so us kids had a clean place to swim in the summers. Nanny would go out once a day to do her water aerobics, walking laps around the pool, listening to the Golden Oldies almost looking like a mother goose, because there were always a trail of kids behind her in row, bobbing along with those aerobic moves and golden oldies tunes. Nanny always made sure us grandkids were taken care of and had something to do. Our moms tell us that her favorite sound was the commotion of us kids running around. I’m not sure we believe them, because we’re all having kids now, and my favorite sound is peace and quiet. But it wasn’t just us grandkids that she wanted to take care of, it was all of the kids in the park. She organized a yearly VBS, bringing in missionaries with games, crafts, and the word of God. She also started up a Sunrise Service every Easter, that grew each and every year. There is no denying her love for the Lord and her kids. There is also no denying the love she had for our grandfather. Nanny and PawPaw are the greatest love story that we have ever seen. To hear PawPaw tell stories about how she stood by his side, no matter what, from laying brick, to digging a basement, to even putting in a swimming pool by themselves. She never hesitated to help him in any way, and he always tried to give her anything she wanted. When she said she wanted to visit the Headwaters of the Mississippi River, he said, well let’s go! They hopped in the car, and you already know the rest of that story. Their marriage is something that people dream to have. The love that you could see when they would look at each other, could move mountains and was evident without even having to speak a word. Nanny was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2004. It was a long time before we even knew she had this disease. All we knew was that we had a strong grandmother that was nothing short of our entire world. It was such a big part of her life, but she didn’t let it define her. She was light hearted about the diagnosis and would make jokes about it. She didn’t let Parkinson’s win. She fought hard and took care of her family until the very end. There is no doubt in our mind, that she will continue to take care of each and every one of us throughout our lives. You are our sunshine. All of our love, Your grandchildren