Nancy R. Schultz

April 29, 1960 – July 15, 2022

Nancy Ruth Schultz was born to Raphael William and Ruth Sylvia (Bakken) Schultz on April 29th, 1960 in the rural farming community of Wells in southern Minnesota.

 

After attending St. Casimir’s grade school, Nancy graduated from Wells-Easton High School in 1978. Nancy then graduated from St. Cloud State and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech pathology.  Nancy also held a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) in Speech Language Pathology.  Nancy’s interest in the field began as a little girl when she walked over to the public school to meet with Mrs. Evian, a speech pathologist, who helped her pronounce the “r” sound.

 

Nancy had a special talent for connecting with children.  While she started her career working with adults, she transitioned in 1988 to working with 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in the St. Paul Public Schools.  Identifying students with communication disorders and creatively helping them to better voice their thoughts and concerns until she retired in June, 2019.

 

Nancy worked with an excellent Early Childhood Special Education team of teachers, social workers, teacher and bus aides, nurses and other speech pathologists at Wheelock School and later Rondo.  She coordinated Summer School for a number of years and was a role model and mentor to new staff.

Born into a family that took road trips every summer after “walking beans”, she also traveled to Bermuda, Mexico, the Caribbean, Alaska, Canada, Cuba, the United Kingdom, Europe (meeting her Norwegian relatives in Oslo and Telemark), Japan, and Iceland with her family.  Nancy spent many family Christmas vacations at Disney World and Las Vegas where she enjoyed playing bingo at the Plaza.  She later cruised to Alaska and traveled to Australia and China with her good friend Tami.

 

Nancy loved her family, her friends, her dogs – Betsy, Caesar, Alex, Gizmo, Rowdy, and Jackson, racing Matchbox cars with her brother, the State Fair, planting potatoes, listening to Rod Stewart, the Andy Griffith show, Broadway musicals, antique fairs, mocha cakes from the Wells Bakery, collecting anything Cracker Jack, and gathering with her friends for happy hour and at the yearly Cracker Jack Collectors Association Conferences.  Nancy hated glitter.

 

We lost our Nancy to cancer too soon, and she will be so greatly missed.  Her laughter, positive attitude, fighting spirit, and her kindness especially to children “who just want to be loved” – all of these characteristics made Nancy who she was and we will hold her close in our memories.

 

She was preceded in death by her father, Raphael W. Schultz, and her grandparents, T. LeRoy and Mabel J. Bakken, and Paul E. and Mary F. Schultz.  Nancy is survived by her mother Ruth S. Schultz, her sister Brenda K. Schultz, Minneapolis, and her brother Paul R. Schultz, Salt Lake City, Utah,

CELEBRATION OF LIFE:  The family will receive relatives and friends at St. Thomas Becket Catholic Church, 4455 South Robert Trail, Eagan, MN 55123, 651.683.9808 at 10:00 AM on Saturday, August 27th, 2022.  A Funeral Mass will then be held at 11:00 AM with Father Tim Wozniak presiding followed by a luncheon.  The family requests all who attend to wear masks inside the church.

The Schultz family is grateful to Melissa Geller, MD, Professor and Division Director, Gynecologic Oncology and to the medical, surgical, and nursing teams at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota Oncology for their kindness, care, and expertise.  We also want to thank Nancy’s many friends and neighbors who were there when she needed your compassion and support.

Donations may be made in Nancy’s name to the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center at www.give.umn.edu/giveto/umncancer or to St. Casimir’s School in Wells, MN at www.stcasimirsschool.net