Faye Marlene (Broadwater) Nelson Vrydaghs

September 17, 1931     ~     July 29, 2023

Faye Marlene (Nelson) Vrydaghs passed away on Saturday, July 29, 2023, in Carmel.

She was born Sept. 17, 1931, in Anderson, to the late Howard and Annabelle Broadwater. She married Thomas O. Nelson in 1961, and Raymond R. Vrydaghs in 1997, both of whom preceded her in death, as well as Rudy and all her beloved cats.

 
Faye is survived by four daughters, D'Anne (Jay) Ettl, Noblesville, Tamara Stanton, Indianapolis, Laura Lockwood, Carmel, and Sally (Ardee) Toppe, The Woodlands, Texas. She also had seven grandchildren, Courtney (Darius Kazemi) Stanton, Portland, Oregon, Steven and Thomas Ettl, Fishers, Elise (Derek Davis) Lockwood, Portland, Oregon, Scott Lockwood, New Zealand, Lauren (Isaac) Thomas, Houston, Texas; and Clark Toppe, Houston, Texas. She is also survived by two great-grandchildren.

Faye graduated from Anderson High School, attended Franklin College, and received her BA from Ball State University and her MA from Notre Dame. She taught English and other language arts at Mishawaka Emmons Junior High School, South Bend LaSalle High School, Jackson High School, Jackson Middle School, and Riley High School where her students won a national orange juice contest with their film about Beauty and the Beast. She was awarded a key to the city of South Bend for her film work with her students and their "Academy Awards" ceremonies when she retired.

Also, during her educational career, she was a part of the initial Indiana Writing Project and presented at their state conference, traveled in Europe, and went to the National Council of Teachers of English Conference in California. Later she won an Indiana Teacher Creativity Award, which included a grant she used to work as a Production Assistant on several film productions in Hollywood. She was also an on-set teacher for children starring in the movie Rudy, produced on Notre Dame's campus.

After retirement she moved to Indianapolis to be near her family and was a substitute teacher at North Central High School. She also volunteered for the Heartland Film Festival for many years where she enjoyed meeting and working with Hollywood and TV stars, and eventually became a judge for the competition.

Faye was a wonderful friend and neighbor, where she and others who lived alone often helped each other. She wore many hats in her lifetime, colorful and creative hats that all fit her so well. The family would like to thank all her doctors and nurses, as well as the caregivers of Majestic Care in Carmel. Per her wishes, there will be no public visitation or service.

08.28.2023 djb

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