Nancy Sue Martin Key, Ph.D.

Nancy Sue Martin Key, Ph.D., passed away on Sept. 20, 2021, at Memorial Hospital in Lake Charles, La.

Dr. Key spent more than 15 years teaching high school English and Drama in the Calcasieu Parish school system and devoted many a summer to teaching in the Governor’s Program for Gifted Children. She loved her many years of work with the Lake Charles Little Theater, where she performed, wrote, directed, designed, and costumed productions.

After achieving her Doctorate in Theatrical Education from NYU, she followed her dream of world travel by teaching in international schools on five continents. She was also an avid crafter, known in her circles for her creative spirit and great skill in stained glass, painting, paper crafts, costuming, sculpture, quilting and embroidery. Her fascinating soft sculpture dolls won national awards and were exhibited in national traveling shows.

Nancy was predeceased by her parents, Shirley Slack Martin, and William F. Martin; her grandparents, Rebecca Brown Slack and Torbert Slack; her husband, Gary L. Wells, and her beloved brother, William Torbert Martin. She is survived by her daughter, Katharine Key VanOver; three siblings, Anne Martin Phillips (Rawlston), Robin Martin (Roxann), and John Martin (Rita), several nephews, and her long-time friends, Betty Anderson, Annette Beadles, Beth Campbell, Lilly Ray Levy, and especially Kay Benton, whose help and caring was invaluable to both Nancy and her family in her last days.

There will be no funeral services due to the current virus pandemic, but her friends, especially the LCHS Class of 1966, are encouraged to remember her in their own ways.