Nancy Nunnery Joseph was born on December 23, 1936 to Herbert Elton Nunnery and Frances Elizabeth Foote Nunnery in Jackson, Mississippi.  She died peacefully on April 14, 2023 in Jackson, Mississippi.

Nancy's childhood home was on Fairview Street, where she made lifelong friends in Mary Ann Underwood (Todd) and Ida Lou Nelson (Cavett).  She attended Bailey Junior High and graduated from Central High School in 1955.  In an episode that would become emblematic of her charmed upbringing, Nancy met Cary Grant and Grace Kelly as they were filming "To Catch a Thief" in Hollywood while on a youth trip in high school.  Nancy went on to attend Mississippi State College for Women before working in the Social Security Office in Jackson.

Nancy married Joe Ellis Joseph of Jackson on November 23, 1961.  The newlywed couple spent their honeymoon in San Francisco, California, after which "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" became their favorite song.  They were blessed with two daughters, Michelle Elizabeth and Denise Susanna, shortly thereafter.  Nancy and Joe Ellis built their home in Jackson on Southwood Road in 1973, which became the site of an immeasurable number of parties and celebrations throughout Nancy and Joe Ellis' life together.

Nancy and Joe Ellis lived their lives with a legendary joie de vivre .  They traveled extensively to locales across the globe, including Lebanon (Joe Ellis' ancestral home), the Holy Land, Rome on several occasions, Hawaii, London, Canada, and Alaska.  Fine food and beverage were the norm rather than the exception in their lives.  Nancy and Joe Ellis followed Ole Miss football loyally, rarely missing games in Oxford or Jackson with their friends Annelle and Victor Saig, Bea and Alfred Katool, and a host of other good Rebels.  They also routinely ventured behind enemy lines to watch the Rebels play in Baton Rouge and other unfriendly confines.

Nancy was a dedicated homemaker and mother to Michelle and Denise, as well as an accomplished artist and cook.  She primarily painted landscapes and stills and took courses in china painting, pottery, watercolors, and stained glass creations.  In addition, she was a wonderful cook and was trained under the tutelage of her mother-in-law, Bessie Joseph, from whom she learned the secrets and intricacies of delicious Lebanese cuisine.  Nancy's kibbeh, grape leaves, stuffed squash, and tabouleh were truly the stuff of culinary legends.  Even when Joe Ellis would bring home an unannounced slew of guests for dinner, she was always ready with a smile, a welcome, and more than enough food to go around.  Nancy also never met a mall that she didn't love.

Family was one of Nancy's most cherished priorities, and she was particularly proud of the additions to her family by way of Michelle's marriage to John T. Crews, Jr. of Memphis in 1988.  She loved her grandsons, Tripp and George, very dearly and greatly enjoyed summers and holidays spent with Johnny, Michelle, Tripp, and George in Jackson.  Nancy and Joe Ellis passed down a great deal of wisdom to their grandsons, including an appreciation of fine food and drink and a love of Ole Miss football, as the family spent many Saturdays together watching the Rebels in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in the 90s and 2000s.  Some of her greatest joy in recent years came from the addition of granddaughters to her family through Tripp's marriage to Ashley Varner of Jackson and George's marriage to Lucy Morgan of Madison.

Nancy's life was not without tragedy, as she gracefully endured the deaths of her daughter Denise in 1986 and Joe Ellis in 2008.  Her Catholic faith sustained her through these difficult times, as this faith was another great bedrock of her life.  She was deeply involved with the congregations of St. Richard's and St. Peter's in Jackson and was one of the first women to serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion in both of these congregations.  Nancy and Joe Ellis were also Knights of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Nancy was predeceased by her mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Nunnery, her daughter, Denise Susannah Joseph, and her husband, Joe Ellis Joseph.  The family would like to thank the staff of the Manhattan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jackson for their care and comfort in Nancy's final days.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Catholic Charities, Inc. of Jackson (731 Pear Orchard Rd., Ste. 51, Ridgeland, MS 39157) or The Mustard Seed (1085 Luckney Rd., Brandon, MS 39047) .