Nancy Dueker

Nancy Dueker, 83, much loved wife and mother, died Thursday, June 26, 2014 at Three Rivers Hospital in Grants Pass.

Nancy was born May 14, 1931 in Middle River, Maryland, to Harold and Grace Bacon. Her family moved to the Los Angeles area when she was five. In 1941, her father got a job building aircraft in India, and she, her two brothers and mother followed several months later in December. They sailed into Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7th, and from the deck of a cargo ship watched history unfold before them. They eventually decided to continue on to India, where they lived for about a year and a half.

In 1944, they moved to Atascadero, California, where she went to high school and met and married Richard Dueker in 1949. She worked as a nurse in the Atascadero Sanitarium for several years, then moved to Missouri where Richard's family was. Children Chris and Annie were born there, and in 1959 they moved back to California. On their way to the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, Washington for a vacation, they saw and fell in love with a ranch in Selma. They bought the ranch, turned around, used their vacation to move to Oregon and never made it to the World's Fair. They spent the next 48 years there, moving to Grants Pass in 2010 for better access to shopping and medical facilities.

Nancy was a social 'people' person and thoroughly enjoyed others. She had a unique sense of humor, often peppered with dry wit, and had a strong moral character built on a foundation of faith in Christ. She made friends easily and was an encourager to those needing hope for a better future outcome. For many years she was an Artex instructor and sales rep. She was very active in the Cave Junction Methodist Church, where she was the choir director for many years and later helped develop and run a Choir Camp. She knitted or crocheted countless afghans and over 500 hats which she donated to people in need. Although her medical conditions limited her physical activities, she was well known for 'zipping' around in her motorized wheelchair. Nancy and Rich had a long and wonderful life together, and would have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this September 1st.

Nancy is survived by her husband Richard, of Grants Pass; her son Chris, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and her daughter Annie, of Eureka, Montana; and two brothers, David Bacon of Arroyo Grande, California, and Robin Bacon of Lakeland, Florida.

She was preceded in death by her mother and father.

Services will be held at 10:00am, Monday, June 30 at Hull and Hull Funeral Home in Grants Pass.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to her favorite organizations that she supported: Dogs for the Deaf, Disabled American Veterans, or Wildlife Images.