Nancy Carol Ziehm

Nancy was born at Fort Knox, Kentucky to Colonel Robert and Mae Ziehm on December 10th, 1948. She was raised in a military family of seven and enjoyed a wonderful childhood traveling all over the world.

While stationed at Fort Ord, Nancy was lucky enough to see Jimmy Hendriks burn his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival. Stationed at Camp Zama in Japan, Nancy volunteered as a candy striper in the Vietnam War, entertaining soldiers who’d been wounded in the Tet Offensive with her wit and games of cards. In doing so, Nancy emulated the service of her late father, who served as second in command of the Army Dental Corp during the war. While abroad, Nancy was also able to visit Thailand and India, seeing sights like the Taj Mahal.

When she returned stateside to Los Angeles, Nancy worked as a dental assistant at USC Dental School and did publicity for the films of her late brother, Howard Ziehm. Nancy was also a staple of the Hollywood social scene of the 1970s, running with the likes of Sammy Shore, Redd Foxx and Craig T. Nelson.

But Nancy’s deepest passion was for horse racing. Most days, you could find Nancy at the Hollywood or Santa Anita race tracks, betting on horses with a skill honed over decades. Nancy could spot a winning horse by its mood and readiness and knew many of the jockeys, owners, and trainers by name, including Bob Baffert himself. But racing wasn’t just about winning for Nancy. Though she won her fair share, what she truly valued was the friends she made over many years who became a second family for her.

Nancy never stopped serving and spent much of her adult life caring for her late mother, and late brother Michael Ziehm. Nancy also nurtured countless animals, both those she owned as well as the birds and cats of the neighborhood which she would feed from her apartment balcony.

Nancy leaves behind her sister, Christine and brother, Bobby, as well as her cat, Gerdie, who has found a new home on her sister’s ranch in central California.