I went to a funeral today; Nancy Faye Tribble. Tribble was 55 years old; a year older than me. Too young! Tribble had been battling pancreatic cancer for 11 years. Two weeks ago she lost the fight; July 23. And what a fight it was. She did everything in her power to keep going. I was able to visit with her last April, during Spring Break, while she was living in Macon with friends. I am glad I got the opportunity to do so.I did not know her as well as others did; did not grow up with her, did not go to school with her, did not teach with her, but did socialize a little with her in years gone by. I met her through a mutual friend; another Nancy. As the years passed, I might see Tribble maybe once or twice a year. We went to the opening of the movie “We Are Marshall” a few years back; to find Nancy in the movie; and many times I would see her at Nancy’s house. I knew a lot about Tribble through Nancy and learned more about her today as one of her brothers spoke about her. He tried to put her whole life into a couple of hours of time. She was a generous person, full of life, and very much a fighter.
It is at times like this you see how small a world it is. There were people at the funeral I knew. I work with a friend of hers; they went to college together. I had worked many years ago with another friend of hers; they taught on the same team in middle school. I recognized a retired teacher who teaches professional learning classes in the county where I work. I have worked and still work with other colleagues of hers, and they all speak very highly of her. She touched a lot of people’s lives.
As I was sitting there today listening to Tribble’s friends sing, and her friends and brother share their memories of her, all I could think was that whenever I met her, no matter what the circumstances (not only was she fighting cancer, but she also had MS), she always made me laugh. That is what I will always remember about her – she always made me laugh. Her sense of humor was incredible, and many of the stories told today were how she shared that laughter with everyone she knew and came in contact with throughout her life.
Nancy Faye Tribble will be missed by many; her personality, her jokes, her drive. I feel lucky to have known her to some degree and to have shared in her laughter.
Our mutual friend, Nancy, did the program for Tribble today. She did an excellent job. The picture is from that program. Nancy has a blog and will probably put into words, a lot better than I have, a tribute to Tribble, but I felt the need to say something.
