Nancy Strong

Nancy Sterner Strong, age 91, of Georgetown TX. Monday, July 26, 2021, died peacefully after an 11-year struggle with vascular dementia. Nancy was born on November 22, 1929 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the only child of Hazel and Lewis Sterner. She was a graduate of Milwood School, Kalamazoo Central High, and Western Michigan University. An accomplished French horn player, Nancy performed in the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and won first prize in the all-state band competition in Ann Arbor. In the summer of 1951, Nancy met Bill Strong when they both worked in the Kalamazoo Public Library. Soon thereafter, Bill went in the Navy and Nancy began teaching elementary school at Parchment, Michigan. Nancy and Bill wed at Kalamazoo's First Methodist Church in 1952. Two years later Bill was discharged from the Navy in Boston and the young couple spent three fun-filled months working at the S. S. Pierce grocery store. Moving back to Michigan, Nancy resumed teaching in a four-room school west of Ann Arbor while Bill studied engineering. When Bill embarked on a career at Bell Telephone Laboratories, the couple moved to New Jersey. There Nancy raised four children while moving the family several times, from Morristown to Madison to Cranbury. When Bill's job sent them to Ohio, Nancy returned to library work; and when another job transfer brought them to Needham, Massachusetts, she found her dream job at Wellesley College's main library, where she remained until her retirement. In 1999 she and Bill settled in Sun City, Georgetown, Texas. In Sun City Nancy and Bill became enthusiastic square dancers and round dancers, and took several trips abroad. Nancy, a prodigious gardener who made every home a gardening showcase, mastered the art of cultivation in a hot climate. Nancy was a skilled seamstress, cook, and decorator. She loved movies, theater, and classical music and traveling to see family, especially her grandchildren. Nancy's decline was slow and relentless, but she was loved and well cared for during her 3 years at Tiffin House Memory Care in Georgetown, Texas. The family is forever grateful for the kind and cheerful staff, as well as the excellent care from Heart of Texas Hospice. Nancy is survived by her loving family: her husband of 68 years, Bill Strong of Austin, Texas; her children Kate (Dan) Pengue of Fairfield, Connecticut; Lewis Strong and his partner Crystal North of Loveland, Colorado; Leslie (Eric) Peterson of Alpharetta, Georgia; and Amy Strong (Nick Evans) of Austin. She is also survived by nine grandchildren: Allison, Meg, Anne, Liz, Carl, Ken, Grace, Aidan, and Jillian and 2 great-grandchildren: Theo and Libby. If you would like to make a donation in Nancy's memory we cannot think of a better place than the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, 714 South Westnedge Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49007.