Marian Nancy "Nan" Somes

Marian “Nan” Malik Somes, aged 101, died peacefully at her home on April 27, 2018, attended by her loving granddaughter, Liz Somes; daughter-in-law, Lucy Somes; and caregiver, Lolita Bradford.
Nan was born August 18, 1916, in Elyria, Ohio, to Joseph and Frances Malik, who had emigrated from Czechoslovakia. She was one of eleven children, two of whom died in infancy.
After graduating high school in 1935, Nan trained to be a registered nurse at M.B. Johnson School of Nursing in Elyria, Ohio, and then at Woodrow Wilson General Hospital in Virginia, graduating in 1939. She felt most at home in the operating room and specialized in surgical nursing.
In 1942, upon America’s entry into WWII, Nan felt the need to help and volunteered to be a part of the Army Nurse Corps, eventually rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. She was dispatched to La Garde General Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, an embarkation point for the Army. Her first field hospital assignment was in Oran, North Africa, in 1943.
It was in Oran that she met her beloved husband of fifty years, John Samuel Somes, of Vincennes, Indiana. John, who had injured his back paratrooping and was reassigned to the Post Exchange, first saw Nan when she was jumping off a truck and immediately fell in love. John won Nan over, and their romance blossomed against the backdrop of war.
From Oran, Nan moved on to Naples, Italy, with the 21st Evacuation Hospital and from there volunteered to go to Anzio, Italy, in early 1944. The Battle of Anzio is known today as one of the bloodiest of WWII. Nan narrowly escaped the bombing of her medical tent, which killed all of her patients and the nurse who had stepped in to momentarily cover for her — a memory that haunted her throughout her life.
As a surgical nurse, Nan was called upon to repair both American and German soldiers. She treated all of her patients with the same fastidiousness and care, no matter who they were.
After the Battle of Anzio, during a leisure trip to Paris in 1946, Nan and John got married. Following the war, Nan and John returned to the states and had two sons, Charles “Chuck” John Somes and John “Doc” Vanderburgh Somes. They moved around with John’s job, from New Mexico to Florida and back to Indiana, before finally settling down in Indianapolis.
Happiest when she was busy and helping others, Nan devoted herself to being both a mother and a civilian nurse. She raised two wonderful, upstanding sons and worked at Wishard Hospital (now Eskenazi Hospital, where she received care in her last days) for forty years, retiring in the 1980s. She and John were active members of the Indianapolis Yacht Club and St. Pius X Church.
At the time of her death, Nan was the oldest living member of the St. Pius community and oldest living veteran among the two thousand who have been celebrated by the Indy Honor Flight organization.
Nan is preceded in death by her two sons, Chuck and Doc; her husband John; her parents Joseph and Frances; and all of her siblings: Laddie, Frances, Jean, Carolyn, Charles, Joseph, Anthony, and Stanley.
She is survived by her two grandchildren, Dean Somes and Elizabeth “Liz” Somes; daughter-in-law Louise “Lucy” Somes; nieces Karen Malik, Arlene Robertson, Carol Machovina, Susan Hill, and Frannie Dixon; and nephews Jack Malik, Ron Malik, Don Austin, Stanley Austin, and Larry Austin. She also leaves behind dear friends and neighbors.
A mass will be said for Nan at St. Pius X Church, 7200 Sarto Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46240, on May 20, 2018, at 11:00 am. The two front pews at the church will be reserved at the mass for family members.
All are invited to join the family for Nan’s burial service the same day, May 20, 2018, at 1:00 pm in the Chapel of Oaklawn Memorial Gardens, 9700 Allisonville Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46520. Following the burial, a lunch reception will be held at the Oaklawn cemetery main building.