Nancy Caroline Ackiss, native of Virginia Beach, died peacefully on June 14, 2019, at Highland Ridge Rehabilitation Center in Dublin, Virginia, after a long battle with dementia. She was 74 years old.
Born on June 17, 1944, Nancy had an abiding love for the outdoors—from the ocean to the mountains—and she especially loved spending time on the intercoastal waterways in Back Bay, regardless of the season. For many years, she was deeply involved in the Back Bay Wildfowl Guild and celebrated and supported the rich cultural traditions of regional carvers, painters, and other artisans.
With memberships in the Daughters of the American Revolution, the U.S. Daughters of 1812, Daughters of the American Colonists, and United Daughters of the Confederacy, Nancy had an appreciation for her ancestral heritage and for the history of her Virginia home.
Preceding her in death are her parents, Mary Copenhaver and Henry Clay Ackiss. Nancy is survived and greatly missed by her daughter Joan (Monahan) Watson and son-in-law C. Edward Watson; her son Andrew J. Monahan and daughter-in-law Tanya Larionova; and her two grandsons, Liam and Carter Watson. She is also survived by her brother, Thomas L. Ackiss, her sister-in-law Ann, and her two nieces, Emily and Amanda.
Nancy’s family welcomes remembrances as they receive family and friends on Saturday, June 22 from 3-5 p.m. at the Ackiss family home, 765 Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach. Condolences should be sent in care of The Watson Family, 1161 Treetop Ridge Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in Nancy’s name to the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum, 1113 Atlantic Avenue Virginia Beach, VA 23451 (https://www.awhm.org).
The Ackiss family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford.