Member Log In
One cannot be long associated with Serra without learning about Nancy Gibson. The Serra world, her family, and her friends were shocked at Nancy’s unexpected death in January 2025. The earth shook, it seemed.
Few folks knew Nancy Gibson better than her good friend, Len Chmelka. A familiar twosome at many Serra events and at their parish, St. Michael the Archangel, in Overland Park, KS, Len observed that many folks who didn’t know them thought they were married.
“Not so,” said the fellow whose good friend had passed away only a few weeks earlier. I caught up with Len on Valentine’s Day. We had breakfast at the Price Chopper on 151st, just east of Highway 69. It’s one of Len’s favorite breakfast spots.
We spoke about the portion of Serra history that Nancy maintained in her possession. He had spent time with Nancy’s family sorting through her belongings. The discussion turned toward a role as Serra Club Archivist. Len said he'd been approached about the idea. We concluded that the idea bears merit, a decision better left to the Serra Club Board.
“Tell me, Len, did you know Nancy before your Serra years?” I asked as an opener.
“We knew each other at St. Michael the Archangel,” he replied, indicating that Nancy had been at St. Sabinus Parish on the Missouri side, moving to St. Michael the Archangel after her divorce.
“We belonged to ‘The JOYS Club,’ Chmelka observed. “Just Older Youths.”
Len went on to describe one of the group’s Friday morning breakfast meetings at which Mike and Doreen Haughton staffed a Serra membership recruitment booth. It was at that meeting that Len and Nancy both signed up as members of the Serra Club of Johnson County.
“So, what year was that?” I asked.
“I was afraid you’d ask me that,” Len replied. “It’s gotta be before 2010. I’m not sure exactly when we joined.”
In fact, the pair joined Serra in 2009, a discovery made by reviewing dates of the following sequence of events, which Len did recall as though it happened yesterday.
“We joined when Mike Haughton was club president,” he recalled. This was 2010. “Mike talked me into becoming club president the following year, and I recruited Nancy to follow me in that role,” he added.
Chmelka described Nancy as “the background person,” for the Serra Club after her presidency, indicating her willingness to help wherever she was needed.
“Nancy and I just found common things to do,” Len commented as he reflected on their shared life experiences. “We were both divorced. It was a good friendship we had over the years.”
Nancy obtained a nursing degree and worked for thirty (30) years as a registered nurse. Much of her career was spent at the VA Hospital. She was a nurse-manager there for several years. After that, Gibson worked at the VA Clinic in Paola. She retired from the Paola Clinic and then moved into long-term care.
“Her last gig was at Tallgrass, where she worked on a prn basis,” Len said. He added, “She worked to fund her Serra activities. During her tenure with Serra International, she traveled to Rome, Thailand, Mexico City and always paid her own way.” He indicated that Nancy taught Religious Education at St. Michael the Archangel for several years.
“We would volunteer for activities together at the parish,” Len reflected, “like the Trivia Night event honoring the men being ordained each year, and the parish annual fund-raiser.” He related, “She enjoyed life.”
Chmelka related his opinion that Nancy was a private person throughout her life, not more so than as the end of her life approached. For whatever reason, Nancy was reluctant to make known the nature of the final medical procedure she faced in her life. Even her best friend did not know the nature of the procedure.
I inquired about Nancy’s most significant contribution during her time with Serra.
At the time of her death, Nancy was co-leading (with JOCO Serra VP Membership, Joane Wilkerson) the hospitality planning for the Serra International Convention unfolding in Kansas City in June.
“Would it be fair to say Nancy was your best friend?” I asked.
“That’s very true,” he said.
He reflected about losing a good friend, sharing the feeling that a part of one goes with that person. “I never saw her in the hospital,” he said, though he’d planned to visit when she got out of ICU. “I bought her a book, ‘Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul.’”
Chmelka conveyed his observation that Nancy was very close to her family. He repeated his assertion that Nancy was very generous with her time, her talent, and with her treasure. He described the privilege he enjoyed in joining several family gatherings at Nancy’s duplex. He commented about her long-desired wish for a stove with six burners so she could create big feasts for her family.
“What do you think is Nancy’s legacy? I inquired.
Without missing a beat, Len spoke again of Nancy’s generosity, her children and great-grandchildren. “These are her greatest legacy.”
“Nancy was always so generous, so dedicated,” he said. Other thoughts included his conviction that she led by example. “She lived her faith openly and wasn’t afraid to dive in and lend a hand. Nancy was a very independent person; she was very focused.” He remarked that Nancy was very good at developing a plan and seeing the plan through to fruition.
Her favorite prayer? I wondered.
“The Serenity Prayer,” he said, again without having to think long about it. “I don’t know if it had special meaning for her, but it was a prayer that we said together a lot.”
“There’s something missing now,” his voice trailed off as he looked away, occupied by his thoughts.
The following Sunday, February 16, I joined a group of fellow Serrans at the home of John Weber. At left, John Caton and Len Chmelka discuss the framed photo of Nancy that was displayed at her funeral. The photo appears at the fore of this tribute. It was taken at the 2024 Serra International Convention in Thailand. Nancy was standing next to an elephant.
"Do you know about that photo?" Maggie Lents inquired of the group that afternoon? She followed her question with a story that she'd learned the photo was taken after Nancy had taken a ride on the elephant beside which she was standing. The garment Nancy wears is traditional Thai women's clothing. 
The focus of our gathering was to sort through some of Nancy’s Serra-related belongings. It was an opportunity for reminiscing, discovery, and recounting Serra experiences shared with Nancy.
The Club bell (photo right) momentarily stole everybody’s attention.
Nancy Ellen Gibson was born December 19, 1943. She died January 21, 2025, after a cardiac procedure. The Serenity Prayer was printed on memorial cards distributed at her funeral.
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, the sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever.
Amen.
