Nancy Joan DeReus

Nancy Joan DeReus

Cedar Rapids

Nancy Joan DeReus, 72, died Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, at Mercy Medical Center after a long battle with small cell lung cancer. Services: 7 p.m. Thursday at Teahen Funeral Home and Cremation by Pastor Tyler Hungate. Friends may visit with the family on Thursday from 4 to 7p.m. before the service.

Nancy is survived by her husband of 38 years, Dale; daughter, Tracy Moses friend (Jeff Voshell) of Cedar Rapids; stepson, Darrin (April) DeReus of Alexandria, Va.; stepdaughters, Amanda (Jamey) Layman of Des Moines and Angie (Alan) Howarth of Earlham, Iowa; 12 grandchildren, Taylor and Tanner Moses, Kelcey (Alex) Hardine, Emma (Connor) Yogore, Zach (Allison) Howarth, Sloan (Steven) Stamper, Maddie Layman, Joseph (Aliyah) DeReus and Kennedy DeReus, Cayla, Braedon and Anthony Layman; two great-grandchildren; sisters, Jean (Randy) Ullrick, Sandra (Gus) Walker and Sheila Miller; brothers, Doug and Mike Burton; sister-in-law, Krista Stufflebeam; and very special friend, Rebecca Steege.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Glen and David Burton; sister, Vicky Tennis; and niece, Brooke Burton.

Nancy was born on April 30, 1951, in Bloomfield, Iowa, she was the daughter of Lloyd “Buck” Burton and Bessie (Covington) Burton. She was raised in Ottumwa, Iowa, where she met and married Tracy’s father, Craig Poncy in 1970, and later divorced. She married Dale DeReus at the Des Moines Botanical Center, in 1985 and moved to Cedar Rapids in 1989. Nancy had a long career in customer service, upon moving to Cedar Rapids, she was employed at Armstrong’s Department Store, where she specialized in fitting women in need of prothesis for post mastectomy surgeries. She retired from Younkers Department Store after 25 years of service with the Elizabeth Arden Counter. In her life, Nancy touched many people through her selfless acts of kindness, forming close friendships in her community and with the people she served. She enjoyed cooking, especially for others and was known to make deliveries of home cooked food just to make people’s lives a little easier. She put love into entertaining, had a passion for gardening roses, enjoyed traveling and loved the glamour of Vegas. She shared her love for music with her father who would often sing to family including her favorites Conway Twitty and Elvis. She was dedicated to family, her grandchildren in her own words were the light of her life. She was part of a special circle of friends locally, known as the Siren Club where she was the life of the party and gave no nonsense advice to those who asked, and she was thought of as a second mother by many that knew her.

Nancy’s legacy of love, kindness and hard work will continue to inspire those who were fortunate enough to know her.

A Celebration of Life will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, 1735 11th St. NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

Online condolences can be left at www.teahenfuneralhome.com.