Swansboro- Nancy Barnes Holloway, 73, passed away Friday, September 4, 2026, at Crystal Bluffs in Morehead City. She was born January 8, 1953, in Norfolk, VA, the only child of the late William M. and Alice Spivey Barnes.

A private celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Nancy had a sharp legal mind and enjoyed a career working in the legal field, including serving as a legal supervisor for several businesses. Outside of her professional life, she loved learning about antiques and collectibles—a passion that eventually led her to leave the legal field and spend many years buying, researching, collecting, and selling her finds on eBay. She often said it never truly felt like work; she loved attending auctions in search of her next find almost as much as she enjoyed gaining the knowledge from researching the history of what she had found.

Having spent much of her life around the Chesapeake Bay, Nancy loved fishing and crabbing, as well as camping—a favorite family pastime for many years. She particularly enjoyed returning to a favorite campground in Newport News, VA, a place that remained special to her and her family. She also loved playing bingo, and during a period in her life she rarely passed up an opportunity to go play, carrying her own bingo bag and personal dabbers. While she enjoyed these activities, she also loved staying in, watching television next to her husband, with her lap often occupied by her beloved Yorkies.

After moving to North Carolina, some of Nancy’s happiest times were the Sunday afternoons she and her husband spent at their daughter and son-in-law’s home, sharing dinner, spending time with their grandsons, and playing board games. During the games, Nancy and her daughter frequently teamed up against their husbands—and while their opponents occasionally questioned their interpretation of the rules, Nancy and her daughter preferred to consider it good strategy. Those afternoons were filled with fun and lots of laughter, much of it thanks to Nancy’s quick wit and wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor. It was a trait she passed along to her children and grandsons, ensuring that her sense of humor (and probably a little of her stubbornness, too) will live on through them. She looked forward to those visits and especially treasured the times when her son was able to travel down to join them. Above all, Nancy’s greatest joy was being a wife, mother, and grandmother.

She is survived by her loving husband of 46 years, Stephen Holloway of the home; daughter, Jennifer Matthews (David) of Swansboro; son, Russell White of NY; grandsons, Spencer, Christopher, and Eli Matthews; and former husband who remained a cherished friend, Chris White of VA.

She was preceded in death by her firstborn son, Christopher White, Jr. Her family finds great comfort in the thought that, after so many years apart, she is finally reunited with him.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Carteret County Humane Society.