Nancy Fletcher-Blume, resident of Franklin, TN, passed away Friday at the age of 79 years after struggling with ALS for the last year. She is survived by son Steve Blume and his wife Nancy (O’Brien) Blume of Brentwood, TN, grandchildren Jason Blume and his wife Katie (Whelan) Blume of Franklin, TN, Shelley (Blume) Sinclair and husband John Sinclair of Nashville, TN, along with three great grandsons. Born in Anderson, SC to Olin Thomas Fletcher and Bertie Mae Smalley Fletcher, she eloped on a dare across the state line to Georgia and married Ray Blume when she was only 14 years old. At 16, she had the first of 3 sons, Steve, followed by Robert at 18 and David at 21. She was always the youngest, prettiest mom in the PTA, and literally grew up alongside her kids.
She played piano and organ at church, and accompanied the Blume Brothers Duet, sons Steve and Robert, as they sang gospel in local churches and on local radio.
The family moved to Nashville in 1968 for Ray’s work. The loss of David in 1970 at age 8 in a drowning accident was devastating, but life went on. Hospitality was her gift, so the Blume home was always open to everyone, no invitation necessary. Kids could always stay over, no matter how many. There was always extra food somewhere and a place to sleep. That never changed throughout her life.
Her thirst for knowledge was relentless. She consumed multiple books each week and was well read on multiple topics. Her passion was writing. Her short stories appeared in multiple collections and anthologies. Her poetry was in collections and even in places such as electric bills. She wrote condensed versions of the classics Treasure Island and Kidnapped. Her published children’s book is The Cast Iron Dogs. She was active in literary organizations such as TN Writers Alliance, Council for the Written Word and other critique groups. She was proud of her southern heritage and used local flavor in much of her writing. In addition, she was a recent board member of the Franklin Transit Authority.
She at some time or another watched every episode of Law And Order, and put her honed investigative skills to work on genealogy. Boxes of research notes support the family tree branches she chased all over the world and through time. She sadly discovered that her great grandfather Napoleon Bonaparte Fletcher was actually just named after the real one and not related.
Every Sunday morning she watched Meet The Press and loved politics. She feasted on political debates and talk shows, but she was also smart enough to avoid emotional discussions with peers who did not agree since she was ultra-conservative.
She also lost her son Robert in 2004 at age 50 in a motorcycle accident. For the last 13 years she lived in downtown Franklin and enjoyed all parts of its history and offerings and was a member of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood where will be a visitation at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 25 and followed by a service at 1:00 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to The ALS Association.
To leave a note for Nancy’s family or share a memory, please sign the online guestbook.
