Nancy Page Henderson Thorsen

Nancy Thorsen died Saturday, June 22, 2013 at the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center in Wilmington, NC. She was born September 4, 1925 in Springfield, MA, the single daughter of the four children of Courtney Crowther and Leland Forrest Henderson. Nancy was predeceased by her parents and two brothers, John Crowther of Omaha, NE and Leland Forrest Junior of Dallas, TX. Surviving are her brother, Courtney deForest Henderson of Richardson, TX; her husband, Colonel Peter Louis Thorsen of the home and sons Peter L. Junior and his wife, Deborah, of Harriman, TN; David Leland of Salt Lake City, UT; Mark Wallace, his wife, Kimberly and son Hunter Dan of Houston, TX; and John Chaffee, his wife, Laura and children, Benjamin Crowther, Harrison Mckee, and Virginia Scott of Asheville, NC. After the "killer" hurricane of 1938 along the east coast, Nancy's family moved to Dallas, TX where she attended Highland Park High School and Southern Methodist University. She modeled for Neiman Marcus, piloted light aircraft to deliver packages to various ranches, and proof-read at Chance Vaught. Given the opportunity to visit Europe in the early fifties, she joined Special Services in occupied Germany, travelled extensively either by conducting and leading tours for the troops or by motorcycling with German law students she had known at SMU. She met her husband Peter at the Stars and Stripes newspaper club in Darmstadt; they married a year later, June 1955, in Dallas. Over the next 25 years she was a typical Army mother and wife whose efforts, for example, resulted in being given Fort Sill's Molly Pitcher award for community service. Atypically she joined her husband in representing her country for over eight years in the former USSR, Poland, and at Potsdam, East Germany. Perhaps, the greatest compliment given to her by several East European wives was the comment, "I can understand you". After retirement, in 1979, her family moved to Wilmington, NC where she completed two degrees at UNCW and to the chagrin of her younger classmates completed the required mile run in such a time that lowered the successful passing grade by several minutes. Volunteering included being one of the original Wilmington Hospice ladies in the early eighties, serving for many years at the rape crisis center, assisting in the Saint John's Episcopal Church office, and cooking / delivering food for the meals on wheels program. She loved the beach, walking when in her prime from end to end almost daily. When no longer possible, she would walk a local pool side to side and was known to many as the swimming pool lady. There will be a memorial service at Andrews Mortuary, 1617 Market Street, Wilmington, NC 28401 at 11:00 am on Thursday, August 1, 2013. Burial will be on Friday at Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, GA. The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center, 1406 Physicians Drive, Wilmington, NC 28401. The family thanks Jimbo, Anna and their staff for the kindness given to Nancy over many years. They also thank the staffs of Clare Bridge, the Cape Fear emergency room, the intensive and progressive care units at New Hanover Regional, and the Lower Cape Fear Hospice for their attention, love, and the exceptional care of Nancy. We, Wilmingtonians, are extremely fortunate to have these professionals.