Nancy Sue Shaheen

A beautiful wife, a wise and loving mother, devoted daughter, tender sister, best-ever mother-in-law, caring cousin, and fond friend, Nancy Sue Mason Shaheen left this earth on the evening of October 29, 2023.  She was surrounded by the presence of her loving family as they handed her over to God.

Nancy was raised in a Christian home full of love. She was the second of the three children born to William Cordell Mason and Sybil Viola Evans Mason. Nancy was born in Mobile, AL and grew up in the charming village of Fairhope, AL on Mobile Bay, Shreveport, LA and Houston, TX.  She went to Bellaire High School and then attended and graduated from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX with a Bachelor’s Degree in English, Secondary Education, and All Level K-12 Librarian Certification, and later earned a Master’s Degree there in Library Science.

She married her soulmate, Norman Lee Shaheen, in December 1962. They lived and loved 61 years of marriage living in various locations around the world as Norman followed a career in the oil industry. Along the way, Nancy and Norman were blessed with 3 wonderful daughters. Amy born in Houston, Texas, Susan born in Anaco, Venezuela, and Lara born in Houston, Texas. Their journey was extensive and allowed them to live in incredible places such as,  Stavanger, Norway; Lagos, Nigeria; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Anaco, Venezuela. Then settled many years later in Corpus Christi, Texas to be with her 3 daughters and their respective families. Nancy and Norman loved to travel, and they spent many years exploring the world together. They lived on 4 continents, traveled to a 5th, visited 52 countries and 44 states together. Nancy loved sitting on her porch next to Norman every morning, watching the birds and rocking in her chair. Her love for adventure and travel extended to her daughters and their families allowing them to create many incredible memories together all over the world. One of Nancy’s greatest loves were her grandbabies. She loved watching them swim in the pool, perform in ballet recitals, play in baseball basketball, and volleyball games as well as cheerleading competitions.  She was always one of their biggest fans cheering them on in whatever they chose to do. Nancy was a truly wonderful human being. In her professional work as a school librarian, she mentored and inspired her students to appreciate the world of books. She believed in life-long learning, and never stopped reading herself, indulging her voracious appetite for books for all her life. So great was her regard for books that she often created gorgeous picture books of her travels, her family members, commemorating and documenting their lives.

At 80 years of age, Nancy self-published “Listen to the Bluebird” which came from stories told by her mother, with artwork by her sister Melinda and granddaughter Chiara. She was so proud of this book and the family will all cherish it for generations to come. (LISTEN TO THE BLUEBIRDS - A Beloved Chil | Book 985186)

She was an amateur genealogist, spending some five years and hundreds of DNA tests finding Norman’s birth family, unknown to anyone until she found both of his parents through infinite hours of internet searching, phone calls, and even personal visits to strangers states away.

In grievance of this amazing individual, Nancy, are her husband, Norman, of San Antonio; her three daughters, Amy Willis (Jeff) of Corpus Christi, Susan Inguaggiato (Francesco) of Corpus Christi, and Lara Ledesma (Israel) of San Antonio; six grandchildren, Emily Willis, Faith Willis, Alessandro Inguaggiato, Chiara Inguaggiato, Lauren Ledesma, and Logan Ledesma; a brother, William Cordell Mason (Juliette) of Jacksonville, FL and a sister, Melinda Means (Noble) of Duncan, OK. Also grieving her are many, many cousins, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, assorted other relatives, and thousands of friends and loved ones. Nancy was loved by so many.

The Memorial Service for Nancy will be held at 1:30 pm, with Visitation beginning at 1pm, on Monday, November 6, 2023, at Schertz Funeral Home, 2217 FM 3009, Schertz, TX 78154.

Most of all, Nancy would want you to find JOY in all you do, live your life by faith and love everyone around you.