Nancy Jo (Feltner) Meadows, 90, of Madisonville, passed away on November 15, 2022, at her home and surrounded by her loved ones.

   Nancy was born on September 28, 1932 to John Davidson Sinsel Feltner and Neva Menear Feltner in Grafton, West Virginia. She was raised in nearby Philippi, where she was a 1950 graduate of Philippi High School.

   Nancy’s father John was a talented musician and Nancy was a clarinet player in the high school band. Her lifelong love of music and band life led her to being a member of Madisonville’s Community Band and a well-loved volunteer “Band Mom” when her daughters were in the MNHHS band in the 1980s.

   Nancy and her younger sister Charlotte shared a cheeky sense of humor and passion for the outdoors. Their parents were fair-minded people who encouraged them to “live and let live” and instilled in them a responsibility for sticking up for the underdog and loving others unconditionally.

   Nancy attended Alderson Broaddus College in Philippi, where she met her husband, Howard “Murph” Meadows. The couple married in 1951 and went on to raise a family of six girls together. They moved several times, residing in West Virginia, Virginia, Eastern Kentucky and Central Florida before finally settling in Madisonville, where they have lived since 1973.

   Nancy was an avid reader and lifelong learner, often finishing several books in a single week. For decades, she was a dedicated volunteer at the Madisonville Public Library. She was also a member of the local prosody club.

   Nancy was a devoted mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. In fact, her daughters have been told by many friends that she was the mother they wished they had had. She was THAT excellent of a mother. She spent her life taking care of her family and many pets, including wildlife. She humorously described herself as a “crazy cat lady” and rescued countless cats and kittens over the years. She had a deep and abiding love for all animals, a testament to her nurturing and loving spirit.

   Nancy was predeceased by her parents, as well as her sister and best friend, Charlotte Sue Hyer. She is survived by her loving husband of 71 years, Murph, and their six daughters Darith Meadows, Jill (Tom) Selby, Lisa (Pat) Rhodes, Lori (Jerry) Richardson, Amy (Craig) Armstrong, and Melanie (Crystal Jones) Meadows; grandchildren Tracy, Richard, Chad, Adam, Megan, Amber, Rylie, and Kyle; great grandchildren Eli, Ean, Stone, Steele, Slate, and Maxwell; as well as two nieces, a nephew and several great nieces and nephews. She will be sorely missed by countless friends and loved ones.

   In accordance with Nancy’s wishes, there will be no funeral service. In recognition of her lifelong love of both animals and reading, the family asks that memorial gifts be made to either the Hopkins County Humane Society or the Madisonville Friends of the Library.

   In closing, we’d like to share one of her favorite poems, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.