Rote

Nancy Patricia Shepard Rote (Mrs. John Edward Rote Jr.), 78, died Tuesday at the Cleveland Clinic.

She was born July 21, 1930, at Hamot Hospital in Erie, the daughter of optometrist Dr. Robert Lehman Shepard and Gertrude Virginia Landefeld Shepard of Erie, both deceased.

She was the wife of John Edward Rote Jr. of Chicora since Aug. 9, 1952. Nancy met her husband at Grove City College, and they were married in Erie.

She is survived by her husband; two children, Katherine Elizabeth Turner of Chicora and John Edward Rote III of Sheffield Village, Ohio; three grandchildren, Tabitha Charissa Turner Myers of New Concord, Ky., Tiffany Nicole Turner Criss of Eureka, Calif., and Erica Faith Turner of Jacksonville, N.C.; four great-grandchildren, Kristopher Blake Myers, Taylor Callista Myers, Halo Aurora Criss and Gabriel Clay Criss; and many cousins.

She graduated from Strong Vincent High School in Erie in 1948 and Grove City College in 1952 with an AB in education and was certified to teach English, Spanish, Latin and history. She was a teacher at Ellwood City Lincoln High School and in the Union Township School District, and she was a substitute teacher and home bound tutor. She also was an interior decorator for J.C. Penney and a homemaker.

Nancy was a member of Church of the Covenant in Erie, the Christ Church in Ellwood City and First Presbyterian Church, Willoughby, Ohio. She was a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Ohio, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Butler County Spinners and Weavers, Timberlake Women's Club, Erie Society for Genealogical Research and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists.

Nancy was loved by all who knew her and met her and will forever be deeply missed. She was a beloved wife, mother and friend, who loved reading, dancing, genealogy, spinning/weaving, knitting and cooking/baking. She always had strength in her faith/religion and was charitable in spirit and action. She was a pie baker without peer. She struggled many years with illness but has now found peace.

<B>ROTE</B> — Friends Nancy Patricia Shepard Rote, who died Tuesday, July 22, 2008, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B>, 124 E. North St. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the funeral home with the Rev. David Brown, pastor of the North Main Street Church of God, officiating. Interment will follow in North Side Cemetery.Memorial contributions may be made to American Heart Association, 777 Penn Center Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15235 or to Heart Research at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.