Nancy Lee (Childers) Wallingford was born on February 5, 1933 in Eaglesham, Alberta Canada to Albert Lee and Daisy Rose (Barnes) Childers. She was the youngest of 14 children.
She often told stories of her childhood and how she used to walk 2 miles to her local country school. She spoke of how rugged the school year could be at times especially during winter in Northern Alberta. The school was heated by wood, but the coat room was not and often, come lunchtime their food was frozen solid. But she added “that we didn’t know any differently, that’s just the way it was.” There were not many amenities in the 1930s and early 1940s. She attended high school but she decided to pursue work opportunities rather than finish. She worked in a dime store in Grand Prairie for a time and then decided to try her hand at picking fruit in an orchard near Vancouver. It was when she opted to go with her older sister Betty to the United States to visit their brother Bob in Nebraska that her life changed dramatically. She was working as a nanny for a family south of Cody when she noticed a handsome man driving his convertible to town on Saturday nights. She finally met him and they hit it off immediately! After a 6 month engagement she married the love of her life, Raymond Wallingford, on June 7, 1953. To that union, two sons were born, Terry in March, 1954 and Randy in January, 1957. They settled on a family-owned cattle ranch south of Cody and raised their family. She would often reflect that these were some of the happiest times of her life when we were all together on the ranch.
After their sons moved away, they sold the ranch, bought a home in Sedona, Arizona and lived there a few years. Their love of travel caught up with them and they sold their home and bought an RV. They spent the next few years traveling around the western U.S. and Canada visiting relatives. After her husband passed she sold the RV and moved to Gordon, Nebraska to be near her sister Betty and her family. She worked at the JefCo Inn and spoke of the fun and friendships she had. It was only after her sister Betty passed that she decided it was time to be closer to her son, Randy. He helped her to move to Lenox, Massachusetts where she lived in an apartment complex until the time of her passing. She made several good friends over the years, enjoyed playing cards, doing crossword puzzles and oh yes, she always looked forward to a gambling trip where most of the time, the slot machines were outmatched by her!
She peacefully passed on October 12, 2021 at Mt. Carmel Care Center in Lenox, Massachusetts with her son Randy and his wife Susan by her side. She was preceded in death by her husband Raymond and her son Terry, her 7 brothers and 5 sisters. She is survived by her sister Bertha Wunsch of Grand Prairie Canada, son Randy (Susan) Wallingford of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 4 Grandchildren, Mandy Wallingford, Terry Wallingford, Raymond Wallingford, Nancy Zelasney, and 13 great grandchildren. She was blessed with 3 additional Grandchildren when Randy and Susan wed in April 1996, Christen Clark, Scott Clark and Lauren Clark.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children.
Funeral service for Nancy Wallingford, will be held on Monday, October 18 at 2 PM at Sandoz Chapel of the Pines in Valentine, Nebraska. Burial followed at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Sandoz Chapel of the Pines was in charge of service arrangements.