Nancy Louise (Portell) Barton

July 28, 1956 – February 17, 2025

Nancy Louise (Portell) Barton was born in the Firmin Desloge hospital (SLU) in St. Louis on July 28, 1956 to the late Leon David and Evelyn Bernice (Warren) Portell.  She was the fourth of seven children and grew up in Old Mines and Shirley.  On June 17th, 1972, Nancy was united in marriage to Roland Barton of Potosi and from this union came two sons, Sean Dallas and Dustin Paul.  

Nancy worked side by side with Roland to do everything in making a better life for her family, from spreading boiling tar onto a roof to making sure every birthday had a cake. She helped hang drywall while hanging laundry. She cut 2x4’s as often as she cut a pie. Nancy encouraged her husband and her sons to believe they could achieve anything they wanted in this life. She was always their greatest champion.

Nancy was a big believer in magic for her children; reciting bedtime stories from memory while doing the different character voices, being the tooth fairy, and even using special handwriting on gift tags on gifts from Santa Claus. She tended wounds, soothed heads, and cleaned up every sickness, all the while never seeming to get sick herself. She possessed some kind of special ‘mom immunity’.  She kept track of lunch money, homework, and school activities all the while cleaning, washing, and creating weekly meal plans to stretch the household income. Back in the days when school holiday parties were held, cupcakes and cookies were always made for the event. Every time someone needed her to babysit their kids, she was there, loving and doting on them.  

Nancy was highly intelligent and a lover of knowledge and learning. She believed in education with her entire heart and made sure her sons watched as much PBS as they did cartoons or sports. She was an avid reader, devouring books one after another, often reading into the wee hours of the morning. She adored the golden age of Hollywood, from goofball comedies like ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ to heart breaking tales like ‘Penny Serenade’. Her true pop culture passion was ‘The King’ – Elvis Presley. One could never say a cross word about the King of Rock and Roll in her presence or they would have hell to pay!  

She was clever, stubborn as they come, and possessed a great sense of humor. She once stated she was craving pork steaks and that she was like Fred Flintstone; more carnivorous than she thought.  Hilarious. She was also nurturing and loving beyond measure.  A true egalitarian, Nancy believed in justice and equality for all. She taught her sons to be anti-racist and had a great passion for human rights of all kinds.  

Nancy possessed an incredible memory. She knew every birthday in the entire family and even some outside the family.  She was a storyteller and the keeper of special memories and priceless details.  Because of her incredible memory, she could make people and places long dead and gone come alive again.  She remembered every teacher she had and almost every name of every classmate she shared time with.  Through her memories, people got to see a living movie of her life and experiences. Nancy loved to talk and would share stories with anyone who would listen. Any time she told a story she had to stand up and be fully animated. She shared stories of growing up with her brothers and sisters, her grandparents, past holidays, and even simple, mundane things that make up a life. All with equal passion and vivid detail.

She was one the most passionate people to ever grace this planet.

Like a true Leo, she roared.

Nancy was a leader and the voice of reason.  She was an old soul with strong values.  She was as determined as one person can get and believed in the sheer will to overcome adversity.  Nancy was a survivor and fighter.  In the year 2000, Nancy nearly died from a ruptured brain aneurysm at the age of 44.  Through sheer strength of faith and will, she survived what should have been a fatal event with only minor side effects.  Again, she roared.

Nancy loved with every cell in her body. It was with this love, Nancy, along with her sons, chose to be baptized into the Catholic faith at her ancestral home of St. Joachim. She loved the church and said that going to mass felt like going home. It was with this love and unending faith that Nancy was able to carry on through many trials in her life.


Those left to mourn her are her sons, Sean and partner, Rebecca, and Dustin, all of Washington, her grandson Dylan Barton of DeSoto, and many nieces and nephews.

Nancy often said that her epitaph should read, ‘She did the best she could.’