April 19, 1942 – August 6, 2026

Nanora Louise Ziebold Sweet passed away at age 84 on August 6, 2026, at her home in hospice care in St. Louis, Mo., after a recurrence of cancer. Born April 19, 1942, to Louise and Harold “Zieb” Ziebold, she grew up in Webster Groves, Mo., where her lifelong love of learning began at Avery Elementary School. Nan graduated from Webster Groves High School in 1960, went straight to college at Lawrence University and soon transferred to the University of Michigan, graduating in 1964. Moving on to the University of Missouri in Columbia for her Master’s Degree in English, she began her 50-year career as a teaching assistant and ended as a Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, retiring in 2012.

In 1964 she married John H. K. Sweet and had her children Jennifer (1968) and Robert “bobEE” (1970) Sweet. She was a strong supporter of her children and their various endeavors, but most especially their education – up and into their adulthood. Nan taught her kids to be self-reliant and curious: she took up the challenge to find the college that best suited bobEE (Evergreen) and was thrilled when Jen went off to graduate school at her alma mater (Michigan). Nan hosted the extended family when Jen married John Mueller in 2002 and again in 2025 when bobEE married Betsy Kellerman. She became a member of both the Mueller and Kellerman-Curtis families and, most dearly, a great-grandmother to Julia Whitaker.

In 1976 Nan met fellow spirit, poet, and teacher Martha Ficklen, who relocated from Virginia to begin family life with Nan and their children in a lesbian and feminist combined household. Martha brought with her sons Ted and Andrew, and eventually Martha’s mother Lois Vann relocated to St. Louis for her end-of-life care. Both teachers, Nan taught young adults, first at Webster Groves High School and then starting as a lecturer at UMSL while Martha taught elementary school with St. Louis Public Schools. Nan, the consummate scholar, was well-balanced by the playful and creative Martha. In domestic partnership with Martha for over forty-five years, Nan cared for her as she was tragically slowed by arthritis and dementia until
her passing in 2023.

In 1987, at age 45, Nan returned to the University of Michigan to complete her PhD. Her interest in the Romantics led her to her research subject, the poet Felicia Hemans, who was the main topic of her dissertation, her many papers at academic forums, her co-edited essay collections, and her research residencies in London. Her career at UMSL benefited: she become a tenured professor, head of Women’s and Gender Studies, and chaired the English Department. Nan spent over 30 years teaching at UMSL, mentoring many students and colleagues along the way. She formed deep academic bonds in the Romantics community abroad – including with relatives of Hemans – and here in the local writers’ community. Nan was a mainstay of the women’s poetry troupe Loosely Identified, contributing to Delmar magazine, River Styx, and poetry readings at Duff’s, and publishing her own chapbooks including Rotogravure with Cherry Pie Press.

Nan was drawn to poets, scholars, activists, family – her community. A longtime member of Trinity Episcopal Church CWE, she worked to produce “A History of Trinity’s LGBTQ+ Women” in 2022. She kept up with her great circle of friends through “Les Lit” – a lesbian literature group that began with a Lesbian Literature course her partner Martha created and taught UMSL. She was the great storyteller of the family, along with her late elder brother John Ziebold (who was the genealogist), she produced the picture book for the McGregor family reunion in 2016. Nan enjoyed her St. Louis community, was grateful to have settled here after her marriage to John, and had a deep love for all of her friends and family who made her life so interesting and special.

She will be missed by many, including her beloved children Jen and bobEE, and their father, John; her very dear “niblings” (niece and nephews) Gregory, Katherine, Geoffrey, and Jack and their children; her dear sister-in-law Peggy; her loving cousins Linda, Janet, Heather, Jane (Sandy), Dellanne, Louise, and Martha; her dear great-granddaughter Julia, Julia’s mother Katherine and uncle John; and so many friends and colleagues. She was preceded in death by her partner, Martha; dear brothers John and Harold; and her loving daughter-in-law, Betsy.

A celebration of Nan’s life will be held at Trinity Episcopal on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 11:00am, 600 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63108. Contributions in her name might go to Trinity Episcopal; Community Radio St. Louis, crstl.fm; or the Landmarks Association of St. Louis.