Nancy Moyer (Anne Gertrude Stewart) was born to Campbell Stewart and Jeanette Beck Stewart on August 15, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in a house of privilege which consisted of many trips to Vancouver to visit her father's relatives, was driven to school in a 1929 Cadillac, and sat at the dinner table - her place marked with a silver napkin ring with the initial "N" engraved on it. It wasn't long before she developed an interest in performance arts. She took ballet and discovered she had a lilting soprano. She attended Maine Township High, excelled in music and art, sang soprano in the chorus, and was the art director of the yearbook in 1939. It was there that she met her future husband, Russ Moyer.
Nancy and Russ were married between Russ' various tours of the South Pacific during WWII where he served as pilot for B24 Liberators. War ending, they made their way to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin where they raised their two children, Maureen and Michael. While there, Nancy worked alongside Russ in their jewelry store, and in later years, at Glen Loch Bar, which they owned together.
While in Chippewa Falls, Nancy developed a love for theater. She appeared in several plays including Teahouse of the August Moon and The Desperate Hours.
Nancy found herself single in the 70's and made her way to Marin County, California. Mill Valley became her home and she worked as a nanny for a number of families, plus a commune on Sycamore Street, where she cared for kids in exchange for her room. She enjoyed riding her bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, walking on Mt. Tamalpais, and spent time with her son, Mike, who lived there at that time, also. She expanded her (already out of the box) approach to religion by attending the Buddhist Temple in San Francisco. She practiced Hatha Yoga and played endless Ravi Shankar music. She loved telling the story of meeting Jerry Garcia sitting on a rock at an outdoor concert on Mt. Tam. She called her daughter one day and said, "I've just heard the best band at Black Oak Saloon in Fairfax...I think they're called Dire Straits."
Eventually, Nancy found her way to Northfield to be close to her grandson, Christopher, and called it home. She performed in several plays at the Northfield Arts Guild, most notably the female lead, Linda, in Death of a Salesman. She also performed in Playboy of the Western World which required a spot on Irish accent. But her crowning achievements in terms of theater were her 1982 and 1983 performances at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. She acted in A Christmas Carol and Our Town. Some of us can well remember her sweeping bows at the end of each performance, with a wink and a tiny wave in the direction of her family and friends. As she swept across that stage, she owned it. She learned much from the likes of Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Boyd Gaines and Leonard Nimoy.
Nancy is best known in Northfield for her Nanny Goat's Dry Flower Shop, in the Archer House, where she created charming creations ranging from wreaths (many containing bird's nests) to table arrangements, to festooned hats. Her wreaths graced local banks, churches, both colleges and dozens of homes, all made from native materials found in Minnesota. The secret location where she picked her Bittersweet remains unknown to this day.
Nancy was a political activist, worked for civil rights and women's rights, and spoke out loudly against the war in Vietnam. A photo of Nancy holding her War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things was used as a backdrop for a Dallas, TX news program one night after a massive demonstration against the Vietnam War. She was tireless in working for George McGovern, so that is an indicator as to her political leanings.
Nancy was immensely proud of her Scottish heritage and in the 70's, along with sister, Martha, visited the Scottish home of her father called Lignwood of Scone. In her early 90's, she wrote the entire story of her father's immigration to America, detailed and factual. It can be read by visiting this site: nancy-moyer.blogspot.com/
Nancy was very well read. She inhaled books at one time ranging from serious novels like Anna Karenina, to The Bhagavad Gita and other books on Eastern Philosophy which helped shape her global view of life on earth, the mysteries of humanity using a lens that was accepting of all possibilities. She also was adept at using her computer and had her own Facebook page. Her stinging comments on current political figures can still be found on her page.
But her main focus in life were her children and her two grandsons, Christopher and Stewart. She'd take Christopher as a little boy for entire summers, and provided a loving home away from home that included swimming lessons and picnics in the park. She would make Golden Toast for Stewart and his friends who, also as a little boy, would spend every Friday night with her. She had unconditional love for both grandsons and her last words were declarations of love for each member of her family...one by one...over and over again. Those words still linger in our hearts.
On the last evening of her life, she listened to the entire opera, La Traviata, and silently mouthed 'Traviata' over and over again. She knew opera and could sing many parts of the arias.
Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Campbell and Jeanette, sisters, Martha and Helen, and her brother, Irving. She is survived by her remaining brother Donald Hopf (Ardi) of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, daughter, Maureen Valley (Jerry) of Northfield, son, Michael (Wendy Nordquist) of Northfield, grandsons, Christopher Valley (Wendy) of San Mateo, California, and Stewart Moyer of Northfield, and several nieces and nephews.
A special thanks to Mary Stewart, Stillwater, MN, who unfailingly stayed in touch with her Aunt Nanny with cards, letters, and phone calls.
As for the photo accompanying this tribute, yes, that is a feather in her hair.
Plans are pending for an outdoor memorial later this year.
