Nancy Put Ann Tobin Putney Putney Faller

Nancy Ann Tobin Putney Faller, 83, died July 17, 2010, at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. Nancy was born on September 22, 1926, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Carrie Farmer and Tom Tobin, a Notre Dame graduate and Irish road construction contractor. Her father died when Nancy was seven. Two years later, her mother married Ellsworth Putney, whose daughter Virginia “GeeGee” Putney became the “sister of love” Nancy had longed for.

The Putneys settled in Seattle. When Nancy’s Japanese classmates at Broadway High School were sent to internment camps, she did not protest. This was a defining moment in Nancy's life: she made a conscious decision that she would never again stand by and do nothing in the face of injustice, and neither would her children.

In college at WSC, Nancy joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, where she made lifelong friendships with her Kappa sisters, with whom she reunited annually until recently. As a drama major, Nancy starred in Penny Wise and other plays and was known to stretch out on a piano, belting steamy torch songs on request. She never lost her love of theater or music, delighting in taking others to shows whenever she could. During the summers, she worked as the proverbial riveter.

After a determined pursuit, she married Bill “Butch” Faller on September 3, 1949. They headed out for a “year-long honeymoon” while Bill finished his Masters degree and Nancy worked as a librarian at the University of Illinois.

The couple moved to Seattle and had their first daughter, Virginia “Gini.” Their second daughter, Elizabeth “Liz” was born in Prosser. Matthew, Janet, and William “Will,” were all born while the family lived in Wapato.

In 1961, Bill became the football and baseball coach at YVJC and the Fallers moved to the house on Barge Street which remains the family base. While Nancy had always worked to keep the promise she had made in World War II, it was in Yakima that her community activism became a way of life for her.

Recognizing the noxious effect of segregation in Yakima, Nancy was active in the beginning years of Southeast Yakima Community Center. She most enjoyed working with children: she created a swimming program and headed the literacy program. Nancy brought her children to volunteer and made sure they had diverse groups of friends and diverse life experiences. She took them to Black Awareness classes and to meet her friends amongst immigrant workers, making sure that her kids cared enough about different people that they would never let anyone be taken away in the name of fear.

Using her trademark stubbornness, sense of humor, sharp wit, and willingness to tell it like it is, Nancy, Pat Haas, and their friends caused enough a ruckus that Mayor Bert Broad created the Mayor's Committee on Human Rights, where they worked on equalizing opportunity in Yakima.

Nancy made her house a haven with open doors for all of her childrens’ friends, some of whom are still family today. She encouraged everyone to be the best person they could be.

The protection of human rights was important in Nancy's life. She demonstrated against the Vietnam and both Iraq wars. She and Bill were active members of the Washington State Rainbow Coalition. Nancy wrote articles for progressive magazines, taking up the causes of Indian rights, the rights of rape survivors, universal health care, farm workers rights, gay rights, and the rights of those she felt needed love and compassion. Nancy worked on antinuclear issues with Jackrabbit News. She partnered with Dick Lord to produce and present local radio and television commentaries. Nancy belonged to the League of Women Voters, and with Bill belonged to the NAACP and the ACLU, where she would take on leadership roles when asked.

Nancy was not all about business. While she taught her children love and responsibility, she also had fun. Nancy taught her family to sing, to laugh and joke when faced with difficult times, and to swing dance in the kitchen. Sometimes she started food fights at the dinner table, not worrying about getting mashed potatoes on the walls.

After the children were out of the house, Nancy didn't slow down. She kept all her political activities, and she gardened, read more, worked on her novel, joined a writing group, and went to writing workshops. She and Bill traveled to Mexico, most especially Santiago, Manzanillo, where they could enjoy swimming in the ocean and participating in Mexican village life, free of tourists. Even though Nancy never got her Spanish quite where she wanted it, she had no trouble communicating and making friends. At home, she loved to walk or bike down Barge, although she always had to stop and chat with someone.

Nancy is survived by her husband of 60 years, Bill Faller, her children Gini, Liz, Janet, and Will Faller; her daughter-in-law Diane Faller; her grandchildren, Jessica Holman, Robert Gonzalez, Will and Joseph Faller; two great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and their children, and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Tom Tobin, Carrie Farmer Tobin Putney, and Ellsworth Putney; her son Matt Faller, and her sister Virginia Putney Neil.

Nancy will be buried in a small family service in Milltown, Washington. A memorial celebration of her life will be held at the Yakima Valley Museum on Saturday, August 14 at 3pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Yakima Valley Human Rights Scholarship Fund or Yakima Food Bank in care of Keith & Keith Funeral Home, or to the charity of your choice.