Nancy Risko

Nancy Risko

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Nancy Susan Whitehead Risko, 61, a resident of 135 W. Holly Trail, Southern Shores, N.C., 27949, and formerly of Charleston, died Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, at Britthaven of the Outer Banks Nursing Facility in Southern Shores.

She was born Feb. 26, 1947, in Mississippi County to the late William C. and Lucy Pauline Farmer Whitehead.

Raised in Charleston, she was a member of the United Methodist Church, a 1965 graduate of Charleston High School and a 1969 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Memphis with a degree in nursing.

A registered nurse, she practiced all over the United States and abroad as she traveled with her husband and his lifetime career with the U.S. Navy. Upon their retirement, they made their home in Southern Shores.

On May 22, 1971, she married Georgi W. Risko, who survives.

Survivors also include a son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Kim Risko of St. Charles, Mo.; a grandson, Brandon Risko of St. Charles; nine brothers, Charles D. Whitehead of Jefferson City, Mo., William C. Whitehead Jr. of Emporia, Va., Frank Russell Whitehead of Richmond, Va., Arthur Jesse Whitehead of Memphis, Tenn., George Irvin Whitehead of Olean, Mo., James F. Whitehead of Wyatt, Mo., John David Whitehead, Benjamin A. Whitehead and Robert A. Whitehead, all of Charleston; an uncle, Jack Farmer of Washington, Mo.; an aunt, Virginia Whitehead Goodin Ridings of Charleston; and a number of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Richard W. Whitehead; two sisters, Carla Jo Knaup and Jenny Lee Wedeking; maternal grandparents, Jesse Newton and Dora Baker Farmer; and paternal grandparents, George Irvin and Nancy Susan Stroud Whitehead.

Her cremated remains will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean at Point Loma, San Diego, Calif., next spring.

The family requests memorials be made to Southeast Missouri State University School of Nursing, One University Plaza, MS 8300, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701.

Announcement Courtesy of McMikle Funeral Home of Charleston.