Nina Jo Wardrup

Nina Jo Langley Wardrup went to sleep on Gazaway Road and woke up in Heaven on October 20, 2025. Nina was born January 17, 1946, the third child of R.E. and Ruby Langley. Nina was met in Heaven by Perry Wardrup, her husband of 57 years, who preceded her in death, as did her older siblings, Jerry Langley and Joyce Greenhaw. She was also preceded in death by her brothers-in-law, Vandell (Shirley) Wardrup and Daniel “Boone” (Deanna) Wardrup, and by her precious niece Juana Wardrup Secondine. Her surviving nieces and nephews-- Jennifer, Vanessa, Craig, Alex, Heather, and chosen niece Andrea-- will miss their Aunt Nina (even though she made them eat the crust on their sandwiches, because that’s where the “nutrients” were, and scrub the occasional toilet). Nina is also survived by her brother-in-law Norris Greenhaw, and by her baby brother, Mike Langley, who was as close to Nina as a brother can be. Nina and Perry took full credit for having raised Mike right—mostly. They trained him on beagles and biscuits, and it was a pretty good formula, all things considered. Nina spent her childhood in Gadsden and attended Gadsden High until her family moved up on the Mountain in the summer before her senior year, which she completed at Etowah High School. Riding the bus with Frank (Annette) Wardrup, her then-future and now-surviving Wardrup brother-in-law, made things interesting. After high school, Nina attended Gadsden Business College where she mastered the Palmer Method and all things dictation and typewriter related. It was during this time that she began dating Perry, who managed to outdo his competition with moonlight drives in his Corvair while serenading Nina with Long Black Veil. Who could resist such wooing? They married on May 20, 1967, at R.E. and Ruby’s house on Egypt Road with Nina wearing a wedding dress she sewed herself. They spent nearly 6 decades together through good times and bad. Nina and Perry raised two children – Mark (Tara) Wardrup and Alyssa (John) Ross. Nina was the center of the family wheel, the hub around which every aspect of family life centered and maintained its steady motion. She worked as an executive secretary at Thompson Tractor until she had Mark in October 1969. Nina stayed at home when the kids were little before she began working in the lunchroom at Carlisle and then as lunchroom manager at West End Elementary. Her homemade rolls were the stuff of legend. She was good at everything she did because she simply could not be otherwise. Nina was the woman you wanted on your PTA crew, on your side in any difficulty, and on your Rook team. There was nothing she couldn’t cook, grow, sew, create, or repair; no puzzle she couldn’t solve, no food product she couldn’t preserve. A voracious reader, an excellent driver, and a natural caregiver. To say she held Perry’s life in her capable, loving hands for years would not overstate the case. She was strong in ways you can’t measure on any scale. Nina had the intelligence and the stamina to rule the world if that had been her ambition, but she chose to serve her family instead. She regretted nothing. Well, she might have regretted shooting the moon New Year’s Eve of 2022, but what’s life without some risk. Above all things, Nina was absolutely devoted to her grandbabies: Mallie, Meg (Chris), Sadie, Callie Jo, and Orrin. She made birthday cakes, costumes, fixed prom dresses, crafted arrow quivers, and taught them all how to tie their shoes. She also taught them all that a five-finger grab from the change jar yielded better results if you used the cup method as opposed to the claw method. Christmas stockings from Nana Jo and Granddaddy were the most anticipated gift of the year, regardless of the recipients’ ages. Nina was the best at loving and listening. She stayed in touch with the grandkids no matter where they were in life and knew more about them than they knew about each other—Nana knew it all first. That strong and steady unwavering love is her greatest legacy, more than her fried pies recipe or her Thanksgiving dressing. And that is saying something. She will have a Graveside Service at 12 p.m. Thursday, October 23, 2025 at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in the Egypt Community. The Family will receive friends from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at Etowah Memorial Chapel before going to the cemetery. Arrangements are entrusted to Etowah Memorial Chapel

Nina Jo Wardrup

January 17, 1946 - October 20, 2025