Nancy F. Schwenker

Nancy is now free of the discomforts and difficulties that she encountered in her nine month dance with cancer. She tried diligently to stick around for her loving husband, family and friends.

Nancy was born in Boulder, at the Mapleton center, the first child of a spirited young couple, William Alfred Fischer and Eleanor W. Barron Fischer. Baby Nancy got early tours of Boulder in the chilly back seat of her folk's car while they delivered newspapers. Upon her dad's graduation from the University of Colorado and hiring on at Colorado College, the family moved to Colorado Springs for the balance of her growing up. Sister Judith (Ledbetter), brother Dennis and sister Susan were added to the Fischer family. A standout feature of their lives together was a string of amazing summers spent living in Yellowstone National Park, while her Geology prof dad worked as a naturalist. Later, the family acquired a piece of land and built a vacation home near Westcliffe, CO. It became another paradise for the whole family and remains a special gathering spot to this day.

Nancy attended Beloit College, Wisconsin, and Colorado College, graduating with a degree in art history in 1968 (some of her college time was spent traveling around Europe and living on kibbutz in Israel). She moved to Boulder in 1971 and worked at various jobs, then decided to study engineering drafting as a means of doing nice work while using her hands (yes it was once done that way). She first practiced these arts at the CU Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics around 1980, where she met future sweetheart John Schwenker. Her skills and abilities led to different opportunities and continual advancements, finally managing engineering document control for Micro Motion, Inc.

John Schwenker eventually figured out that he had an awfully good thing and they were married in 1986. Nancy made a career change in 1997, completing programs at Boulder College of Massage Therapy. She performed some standard massage therapy treatments from a home office, as well as volunteering with Boulder County Mental Health to supply much needed house call body work for MS patients under their administration.

Nancy retired for real in about 2007. She helped her parents out with their lives in a Boulder retirement home and concentrated on her pleasure pursuits of piano playing and cooking (enhancing John's waistline some, while Nancy's was kept in good control with her friends at Curves gym). John was able to retire early in 2013. Nancy and John enjoyed many nice travels together, biking around town on the tandem, meeting up with friends, as well as always just lots of good companionship around home.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents named above and is survived by her siblings, also above. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and nephews of her and John, and two pet turtles. To many who worked with her and/or were family or part of her circles of community, Nancy is remembered as a gentle, thoughtful spirit with kind wit and good humor. She is deeply missed.

From a small collection of quotes important to Nancy: "... grace comes from an examination of one’s life in which you realize that you don’t deserve what you’re getting, yet you’re getting it anyway... it’s the difference between seeing life as an entitlement and seeing it as a gift." Gregg Krech