Nancy Brown was born in Springfield, Missouri in 1950 and as a young girl, moved with her family to Healdsburg. She graduated from Healdsburg High School in 1968. She briefly attended Santa Rosa Beauty College and this ensured her hair always looked great, minus a few unfortunate styles during the home perm rage of the 1970’s.
Nancy could organize a party, a parade float, a reunion, or a conference. Yet, her closet was a mess. She had a love of animals and was fiercely loyal to her family pets. Yet, possessed a visceral loathing of chickens. She was a creative cook and could whip up anything if a dinner party broke out. Yet, her children are still scarred from the damage inflicted upon them by her attempts at stir-fry.
Nancy had a love of people and could strike up a conversation with most anyone, finding common ground and connection and she had a diverse array of friends from all walks of life and age groups.
She was funny, corny, and wasn’t worried about looking silly. She never missed an opportunity to dress up or dress in costume. She would indiscriminately dance when the mood struck her. She was always up to meet for lunch or wine, road trip, attend a concert, play, or classic car show. She found her peace working in the garden with her hands in the soil, creating soothing spaces in her backyard.
She had a fondness for easy listening, golden oldies, big band, and classic country music and had a thing for Neil Diamond and Santini from Sha Na Na. She pretended to know the words to songs while singing along but failed miserably because she didn’t know the words. She loved to play games and didn’t care about winning – until she did.
Nancy’s leadership skills were broad and diverse. She was President of the California Angus Association; Vice-President of the Military Vehicle Collectors of California; a two-term President of Sonoma County Newcomers.
Her work experiences included raising and showing registered Black Angus cattle; becoming a real estate agent in 1995; and most recently, as a tasting room associate at Benziger Winery.
Nancy is survived by her husband, Michael, whom she married in 2018; daughter, Jeri Hansen (John Dunbar) of Yountville; son, Darrell Hansen (Reba), grandson Mac, and long-time friend and former husband, Mel Hansen of Canby, OR; aunt Cheryl Kay Fero of Stockton, MO; cousins Brett Fero (Abby) and family of Easy Syracuse, NY; Aaron Fero (Julie) and family of Fruita, CO; aunt Frances Brown; cousin Jim Brown (Susan) and family of Kansas City, MO; step-daughters Tracy Umphenour (Shasta) and Kristy Umphenour of Windsor. She is preceded in death by her parents Kyle and Dorothy Brown and brother Larry Brown.
A celebration of life will be Saturday, January 8, 2022 from 1:00 – 4:00pm at Saralee’s and Richard’s Barn at the Sonoma County Events Center. Honorariums may be made in Nancy’s name to your local Hospice; Cancer Society; or Alzheimer’s Association organization.
