Nancy J. (Small) Powell

Nancy Jayne (Small) Powell, 91 years old, formerly of Canonsburg, passed away Saturday, September 3, 2016, in Washington, where she resided since 2011.

She was born May 14, 1925 in Canonsburg, the daughter of the late Dell and Florence (Christian) Small.  She graduated from Canonsburg High School in 1943, worked for a brief time as a bookkeeper at Universal Cyclops in Bridgeville, and then entered the U. S. Navy during World War II.  She was a clerk-typist as a WAVE, stationed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard until the war’s end.  After the war, she came back home and was a Bell Telephone operator, working in the local switching office then over Taylor’s Drugstore.

She was a member of the Canonsburg United Presbyterian Church, where she sang in the choir for 50 years and taught Sunday School, and then was a member of the Chartiers Hill United Presbyterian Church.  For a while, she was involved in Christian Clowning as the mime “Bubbles.”  She was a charter member of the Covered Bridge Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America.  She was also a member of The Daughters of the American Revolution and The Eastern Star, having served numerous times as an officer in each.  She loved history and to read.

On April 8, 1949 she married Albert Roy Powell, who survives, and together they had a daughter, Deborah L. Powell, and a son, Eric C. Powell.  Also surviving is a sister, Elizabeth V. Bauer, of Paoli, and a brother, Gordon L. Small, formerly of McMurray and owner of Gordon Office Equipment, now residing in Atlanta, Georgia.  She is preceded by sisters Margaret Andy-Newton, Doris Small, and F. Irene Small-Czemerda, and brothers William, Kenneth, and Marlin.  In addition to her husband and children, she is survived by three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and then 6 to 8 p.m. in Salandra Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., Joseph P. Salandra, Owner/Supervisor, 304 West Pike Street, Canonsburg, on Wednesday, September 7th, with a D.A.R. Service at 7:00 p.m. and an Eastern Star Service at 7:30 p.m.  Pastor Gary A. Gibson of Presbyterian Senior Care will lead the memorial service at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, the 8th, at the funeral home.  Full military rites will be accorded by the VFW Post 191 of Canonsburg. Interment will follow at the Oak Spring Cemetery in Canonsburg, with a reception following at the Chartiers Lodge, F. & A. Masons, 235 West Pike Street, Canonsburg.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making donations in memory of Nancy to either Friends of Haiti, P. O. Box 1441, McMurray, PA  15317 or to The City Mission, 84 West Wheeling Street, Washington, PA  15301.