Remembering Nancy Rabb
Remembering Nancy Rabb
The Life of Nancy Rabb Now in the company of all of heaven, Nancy Nielson Rabb, has been reunited with those who preceded her death: parents Svend and Ingeborg Nielson and her husband Virg Sullivan Rabb. Nancy is survived by son Cody Rabb, son Cary Rabb, daughter Casi and son-in-law Jim Helbig; grandchildren Spencer Rabb, Arabella Johnson, Jordan Helbig, Payton Helbig, Nick Helbig, Zach Helbig and wife Adrian, and numerous relatives.
Nancy passed away on February 15, 2018 in Round Rock, Texas. She was born in Brazil, Indiana on September 6, 1938, but enjoyed telling everyone that she got to Texas as quickly as she could. Raised in the Rio Grande Valley, she graduated from Edcouch Elsa, received a BFA in Radio/Television broadcasting for The University of Texas at Austin (THE University, she called it) and a Masters in Human Services from St. Edward's University Texas.
Nancy and Virg met on a blind date while attending The University of Texas. She was a proud member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Their life journey together began in 1958, and they were true blood Texas Longhorns for the rest of their lives. Her interests were many. When asked about hobbies, she cited: family, church, community, and WAG-A-BAG (the family business). That left little time for travel, gardening, and following the Longhorns, but she managed to work those in somehow. She worked for numerous radio/TV stations in the Austin market and had The Round Rock News with Nancy Rabb on KGTN Georgetown for several years.
There were 1800 people living in Round Rock in 1964, so news was often difficult to obtain. Virg kept two small children quiet while she dialed into the station and recorded the program. He tired of that with the arrival of the third child and she always reminded him that he ruined her broadcasting career. She lived life to the fullest and enjoyed a full calendar daily. Virg and Nancy opened the first WAG-A-BAG on highway 79 in Round Rock, Texas in 1964. Since that time they have continued to do business in Central Texas. While Nancy credits Virg with the vision, together they sought to be an asset to each community they served. Nancy's favorite scripture is from Luke 12:48, "to whom much is given, much is required," and she tried to live her life accordingly. She remained active in the business throughout her life.
While she enjoyed numerous community activities, the love of her life was the development of the Play For All Abilities Park and the Rabb House on the Rabb acreage that she and Virg donated to the City of Round Rock in 1989. She loved to entertain and Nancy and Virg built their home on highway 79 by a deep hole on Brushy Creek. Following many floods they gave the 26 acres and residence to the City of Round Rock realizing something wonderful could be done with that property. The original Rabb House needed to be leveled following the flood of 2011, which left eight feet of water in the residence. The City of Round Rock built a new Rabb House venue in 2014 and that, along with the widely used Play For All Abilities Park, delighted Nancy as she watched it develop. She joked that her car drove itself by remote control to Rabb Park every Sunday to check out its usage since it was located so close to her church on Palm Valley Blvd.
While her life was firmly planted in Central Texas in numerous ways, her eyes remained on The Eternal, and faith and family were treasures to her at all times. No one ever enjoyed grandchildren and their activities more than Nancy. She was heavily involved in many aspects of her community and received numerous awards and accolades over the years. There are just too many to name. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Greater Williamson County YMCA (1812 N. Mays St., Round Rock, TX 78664 www.ymcagwc.org) or Play For All Abilities Park through the Greater Round Rock Community Foundation at www.rrcommunityfoundation.org.
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