Nannette L. McClanahan, 88 years, of Kansas City, Missouri passed away in her sleep in the early hours of Friday, February 12, 2021 at Northcare Hospice House in North Kansas City, MO. She was born on Saturday, June 4, 1932 in Horton, Kansas, the daughter of Waylon and Mable Saxton. Nannette was raised on the family farm in Horton, attending grades 1-8 in a one room schoolhouse and eventually going on to earn her high school degree. At the age of 18 she began working for the Bell Telephone Company in Topeka, KS as a switchboard operator and at the age of 22 relocated to the West Coast. Her compassion for others, strong work-ethic and general wit propelled her quickly through life and her career. For the next 27 years she worked within the company and its subsidiaries; moving her way up from operator to supervisor, and eventually becoming a regional manager. Two years before earning an early retirement at the age of 55, she transitioned to a role with Western Electric Company, Bell’s manufacturing arm, where she became the company’s first female supervisor managing a unit of installation workers. Nannette lived in Bend, Oregon for most her life having fallen in love with its natural beauty, saying she was lucky to call it home. She enjoyed the beach, nature and fishing. She was known to never be without a novel or two (or three) and would easily finish the thickest of books within a day. Nan loved doing crossword puzzles, at which she excelled with the help of her quite exhaustive vocabulary. She also enjoyed card games and board games like Scrabble and Cribbage. Nannette loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren fiercely, relocating to the Midwest during her retirement and then later back to the West coast so she could be there as they grew up. She imparted on all of them wonderful teachings like how to cook, fish, give hugs, and not sweat the small stuff. In her passing, her grandchildren are left with many fond memories of weekend mornings at Grandma’s, usually eating something incredible that was cooked from scratch. Above all things, Nannette was kind with a light-hearted spirit. When she laughed, you couldn’t help but do the same. Just like her laugh, her wonderful outlook on life would infect those around her, usually in the form of a saying or two; things like, “Stick with those who smile when they see you coming,” or “Lord, give me patience and I want it now.” As we reflect on her life, we think she’d enjoy it if we reminded everyone to choose happiness every day, just as she did. After all, when things get tough, “you can either laugh or cry, but when you cry all you get is wet.” Nannette is survived by three of her children; James (Joan) McClanahan, Georgie (Michael) Mohr, and Terry McClanahan, seven grandchildren; Jayme, Jared, Michael, Ron, John, Danny, and Jessica, her brother; Homer (Wanza) Saxton, and 15 great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by three children: Nancy Kincaid, Nicky Crow, and Russell Earp, one grandchild; Tony Brown, and four siblings: Monty, Bonnie, Russell, and Francis. There are no services scheduled at this time.