The Nancy Stence Creason papers date from 1891 to 2020 and measure 6.67 linear feet (17 boxes) and 4.18 megabytes. The collection is organized into four series: Personal, Professional, Photographs, and Artifacts.

The Personal series (1891-2020) contains materials related to Creason’s personal life and is divided into five sub-series: Biographical, Correspondence, Education, Family, and Writings. The Biographical sub-series contains materials related to her birth and early childhood, involvement in 4-H, speech, and theater, marriage, and a book of letters thanking Creason for her financial support for nursing students. The Correspondence sub-series includes letters and greeting cards and is organized chronologically. The Education sub-series includes materials from elementary, middle, and high school, college nursing papers and coursework, commencement pamphlets, her bound dissertation, and alumni reunions. The Family sub-series contains materials from her mother, memorial books, and ancestry research. The Writings sub-series includes diaries, original poetry and prose, and memoirs.

The Professional series (1960-2018) contains materials related to Creason’s career and is divided into six sub-series: Correspondence, Employment, Grants, Professional development, Research, and Speeches. The Correspondence sub-series is arranged in chronological order by institution or organization. The Employment sub-series contains nursing licenses, job appointments and evaluations, and other materials directly related to her various nursing and professor positions. The Grants sub-series contains grant applications. The Professional development series contains certificates, awards, conference proceedings, and materials from a nursing clinical study Creason conducted in the USSR. The Research sub-series is the largest and contains multiple articles Creason published, as well as the notes, work-in-progress papers, and correspondence associated with each publication. The Speeches sub-series contains speeches that Creason delivered on nursing issues and at student commencements and nursing ceremonies. Also included in the Professional series is Creason’s CV. Research and publications listed in the CV but not listed in the folders can be found online.

The Photographs series (1901-2017) contains photographs of Creason and her family. Included are photographs from Creason’s personal life, her time at the University of Iowa, her at nursing and university engagements, and receiving awards. The folders of family members have been organized by person or couple. In the extended family folder, each family has been organized into separate photo envelopes and named by person or family. The photographs of Nancy Stence Creason and Murrel Cords Stence have been arranged chronologically. Also included are photograph negatives.

The Artifacts series (1953-2010) contains a range of realia related to Creason’s personal and professional life. Included are ribbons, pins, and a powder compact from 4-H, a variety of school and work-related pins and buttons, a high school pennant, graduation tassels, an Iditarod member patch, a bracelet, a nurse prayer plaque, and a conservation bag from a trip to the Galapagos.