Florist going to "keep on keeping on"

Nancy Sturgill worked at a flower shop in high school as a part-time employee. As a young high school girl, she had other plans for her future, and owning a flower shop wasn’t one. But sometimes, passion and talent cannot be stopped. For 32 years now, Flowers by Nancy has been running strong.

“I just love it,” she said. “I like helping people and pleasing people. I enjoy my job very much.”

It all began over 30 years ago when Sturgill’s husband looked at her and said, “Why don’t we just open a shop?” He was a coal miner but had been laid off a few times, so he offered the idea.

“And we did and here we are,” she said.

At the time they opened, she said that there were a lot of florists in the area, but they worked as hard as they could to grow their business.

“There were rocky years,” she said. “But I just kept at it. I was here to service the community.”

Customers could get flowers anywhere, but Nancy said that their service, community and customers have kept them going. They take pride in every piece they create. She said that she enjoys making something that she’d want her loved ones, or even herself, to receive.

“We’re just people pleasers and we’re personal, you know?” she said. “If they want to talk to us, we want to listen. If they have a need, we try to help.”

During the height of the pandemic, it was rough for the business. With smaller funerals and gatherings, it took a toll on them. But like many businesses, things are starting to look a little brighter.

“It really did put a hurting on us,” she said. “But we’ve bounced back so far.”

For the future, Nancy said they’re just going to “keep on keeping on” and do what they love every day.

“It has been an adventure,” she said. “My husband and I just love it. We come every day and do what we do best – make flowers and help people.”

Flowers by Nancy is at 612 N. Eisenhower Drive in Beckley.