Nancy Healy, longtime St. Anthony Park resident, died on April 25 at the age of 73.

Born Nancy Anne Meyer, she was the first of six daughters. A music lover, she played the piano in churches and mastered a good chunk of the Gospel Hymnal.

In her last years, when dementia had robbed her of most of her memory, she could still sing many hymns.

Nancy graduated from Bethel College with an education major and embarked on a long teaching career. Starting when kindergarten was a half-day affair, she taught 30 students in the morning and another 30 in the afternoon.

After several years she moved to first grade and later started a multiage program in her school. She finished her career as the curriculum coordinator at a charter school. Over the years she influenced the lives of hundreds of students.

Along the way she earned masters and doctoral degrees in education at the University of Minnesota, where she also taught a class.

During summers and in early retirement, Nancy traveled widely as an educational consultant, including two trips to the Philippines to help launch the Children of Hope School at the Children’s Shelter of Cebu.

In 1974, Nancy married Dave Healy. She bore two sons, Benjamin and Matthew, and delighted in their growth and accomplishments.

For many years Nancy led a writers’ group and the Sunday Afternoon Book Group, which met at Micawber’s Books. She was an inveterate reader, and she self-published a memoir and books about her mother, father and grandmother.

Nancy’s family is grateful for the compassionate care she received at St. Anthony Park Home during the last year and a half of her life.  

Photo credit: Nancy Healy. Submitted photo.