Nancy Jean Mastee

August 29, 1941 - February 20, 2022

Nancy Mastee, age 80, passed away Sunday, February 20, 2022. A life-long resident of Muskegon, she was born on August 29, 1941. She was always proud to say that she was a pre-World War II baby. As a child, she had polio and was in an iron lung. She recovered and went on to have many fun times. She had fond memories of time spent on the farms of various relatives playing with her beloved cousins. She continued going up to the Mills family farm for gatherings her entire life. She married Theodore Mastee on April 29, 1967. They had many adventures together. From going up to Copper Harbor every year to going to Civil War battlefields for reenactments they had many fun times. He passed away in January 2019. His family Jim & Jean and John & Jill remained close to Nancy. Nancy and Ted had one child, Daniel. He passed away in August 2020. She also had two babies that passed at birth. Nancy always loved children. As a nurse she was the one to play with the kids when they were up in the middle of the night. She played with all the babies at St Michaels church. She often talked to babies in the grocery store and would tell their mothers she was the official grandma of Muskegon county! She loved her two grandchildren Alison and Ian with all her heart. She also has many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews that she happily doted on. Nancy was very proud to be a nurse. At Heritage Hospital she made friends that she kept in touch with for over 50 years. They say she had a sixth sense about her patients and when she told the doctor she had a funny feeling about someone, the doctors would come running because they knew she was always right. Her final job was at Muskegon County Jail, 2nd shift night nurse. The inmates respected her and the deputies loved her. She baked the deputies treats every week and treated them as if they were her own kids. Nancy was an avid knitter. She made countless pairs of mittens. She always said every kid needs a pair of red mittens. She gave them away to every child she knew and donated bags full every year for kids who needed mittens. She also made countless washcloths and scrubbies that were the hit of every family get together. Wherever Nancy went, her knitting bag was with her! Everyone who knew Nancy knows how much she loved to have fun and how stubborn she could be. Nobody knows that as well as her lifelong best friend Dorothy Witte. They knew each other their entire lives and were more like sisters. Despite the hard times they both went through, their friendship remained strong throughout the years. Nancy is also survived by her brother Paul Thomas. They always had fun together and were constantly teasing each other. We lost count of how many times they “disowned” each other. It was all part of their fun. Lastly, Nancy is survived by her daughter-in-law Jennifer (Slater) Mastee. Nancy was an amazing mother-in-law. She always treated Jennifer like the daughter she never had. The two of them remained close and Jennifer was her advocate until the end. Nancy’s family would like to thank Lynn and Erica at Twin Lake Assisted Living for taking wonderful care of Nancy for the past two years. We are so grateful for the love and attention and care you gave Nancy as you welcomed her into your family and treated her like she was your mom too. She loved you all very much. Nancy has been cremated by the Sytsema funeral home on Apple Ave in Muskegon, Michigan. A graveside service will be held this summer at St. Mary’s cemetery followed by a celebration of life. Because Nancy loved kids so much, we ask that donations in her honor be made to the Kids’ Food Basket program. https://tinyurl.com/KidsFoodBasketMemorial.