Nancy Lee Smiley

Nancy Smiley ObituaryObituary published on Legacy.com by Hampton Cove Funeral Home Cemetery & Crematory on Mar. 12, 2026.Nancy Lee (Ball) Smiley, age 81, died Thursday, March 12, 2026, surrounded by family.Nancy was born in Charleroi, PA, August 3, 1944, the eldest of 3 siblings born to Dr. Arthur Lewis Ball and Dorothy Louise (Frederick) Ball. She was an only child until age 14, when she was delighted to finally have two younger brothers.In her youth, Nancy enjoyed playing "House" and playing with her dolls in her family attic, as well as playing outside on the gently rolling hills of her family's home in Coal Center, PA. She especially liked to play "Cowboys and Indians" in full dress up costume, complete with her trusty stick steed. Throughout her life she enjoyed all forms of reading - reading to children, being read to, and reading on her own. Later in life she also enjoyed building puzzles and excelled in playing Cards (especially 500 and Rummy) and Scrabble. She greatly enjoyed sitting out in her back yard that she and her husband Tom called "their little slice of Eden." It was a haven for various creatures that she became familiar with and named, and she became a knowledgeable bird watcher. She also created several children's stories (some including her own illustrations) that she had hoped to submit to publishers one day, and that her children still hope to do on her behalf.Nancy graduated Bentleyville High School in 1962. During her high school years, she participated in Drama Club.She started college at Buchannon, WV, then transferred to California State College in PA. She graduated in 1965, completing 4 years of college in only 3, earning a degree in Elementary Education. In a highly unusual move, she was hired for her first teaching job before she had graduated. In fact, she made such a good impression at the interview that the school gave her a raise before she started! She taught elementary students for over 40 years, and retired as an Elementary Title One Reading Instructor and Teachers Coach, a job she particularly enjoyed.During her college years, she married her high school sweetheart and love of her life, second only to God, Thomas Wallace Smiley, on June 6, 1964. They had been officially together since she was 15 and he was 16, but she had played being Mrs. Smiley since the tender age of seven! Nancy and Tom were a true and rare love story.In May 1965, they moved to Dayton, OH, where their daughters Jennifer Lee and Linda Lee were born. In August 1969, the family moved to Blaine, MN, where their son, Thomas Arthur was born. Tom, Nancy, and son Tom all moved to Huntsville, AL in March 1990, where they have since resided.God and faith have always been important in Nancy's life, and even as a child, she felt God guiding her. God's way of life became the prominent focus of her life after she and her husband Tom were baptized into God's church February 28, 1971. In 1992 they were ordained Deacon and Deaconess, and they both faithfully served in those roles until their deaths. Together, they strived to fulfill Deuteronomy 6:6-7 and diligently lived, raised, and instructed their children in God's way of life, and were blessed with a spiritual legacy because of it.Nancy is preceded in death by her husband of almost 58 years, Thomas Wallace Smiley, Huntsville, AL, and her younger brother, Gregory Stuart Ball, Girard, PA. She is survived by her children: Jennifer (Trent) Pulis, Rapid City, SD, Linda Conner, Owens Cross Roads, AL, Tom (Michelle) Smiley, Huntsville, AL; brother Brian Ball, Coal Center, PA; 13 grandchildren; and 7 great - grandchildren.The funeral service will be held Thursday, March 19th at 1pm at Hampton Cove Funeral Home in Owen's Cross Roads, AL, with interment following in the Hampton Cove Cemetery (on the premises). Visitation times will be Wednesday, March 18th from 6-8 pm, and Thursday from 11am-1pm.To send a flower arrangement in memory of Nancy Lee Smiley, please click here to visit our sympathy store.To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Nancy Lee Smiley, please click here to visit our sympathy store.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.