Nico (Steelman) Cameron-Francis December 17, 1948 ~ November 24, 2020 (age 71)

Obituary

Our precious Nico flew into the arms of Jesus, her Lord and Savior, on November 24, 2020. Celebration of life service for Nico will be held on December 1, 2020, at Third and Kilgore Church of Christ at 10:00 with Rev. Daniel Armstrong officiating.  Local pallbearers will be Colin Chandler, Randy Dunson, Delbert Rector, Dustin Cabeldue, Jim Chandler and Adam Terry.  Honorary pallbearers will be Joe Chandler and Buddy Blue as well as other members of her church family.  Grave side services will be held at 4:00 pm in Estancia, New Mexico with family members serving as pallbearers.

Nico was born on December 17, 1948 to John (Jack) and Nada Steelman in Huntington, West Virginia where she graduated from Huntington High School in 1966. After high school she went to the University of Kentucky where she got her Bachelor’s of Science in Anthropology.  It was in Kentucky that she met and married Ron Cameron.  The young couple moved to Grady, New Mexico to homestead.  The next step was a move to Portales in 1984 where she worked at Sacred Heart Elementary in Clovis New Mexico while she finished her Master’s of Education at ENMU.

After graduating from ENMU, Nico served as grant-writer and director of the TRIO College Success Program at ENMU, serving at the local, regional, and national levels. In this position, Nico was a mentor, teacher, and “parent-away-from-home” to thousands of students. She retired in 2006.

In 2004 she married Barney Francis and spent her retirement serving her Lord faithfully with Barney as they ministered to those who needed their love and support. She was a member of Third and Kilgore Church of Christ. They loved to travel to many different areas around the country and around the world, as they served as missionaries in Thailand and supported many other missionaries as they served around the world. Nico loved music and was a life-long learner. She adored the Word of God and spent time in it every day. She loved watching her grandchildren grow and participate in all their activities; she was their biggest cheerleader!

Nico was preceded in death by her parents John and Nada Steelman, and her brother John Steelman. She is survived by her precious son, Worthy (Heather) Cameron, four step-children Burl (Evonna) Francis, Julie (Daniel) Armstrong, Jay (Fran) Francis, and Jack Francis. She is also survived by grandchildren Abigail and Cade Cameron, Dakota, Allen, and Jonathan Francis, Alexzandra Garrett,  and William, James, and Amber Armstrong.  Nico also “adopted” so many others that she considered true family. She will be missed by so many lives that she’s touched. Nico’s friendship was solid gold as she was totally committed to her special people…and it seems almost everyone was one of her special people.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to New Mexico Christian Children’s Home in her honor, 1356 NM 236, Portales, NM 88130.