Nancy (although everyone knew her as Nan) was a wonderful woman who left us far too soon on November 21, 2025 due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, CJD.

She was a beloved wife of 53 years (Mike), mother of two daughters (Ashley and Lacey), grandmother of twin grandsons (Cayden and Campbell) and a granddaughter(Cosette aka Coco.)

She was born April 8th, 1949 in North Baltimore, OH. She graduated from North Baltimore High School in 1967 and attended Bowling Green State University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Education. She taught Jr. High English & Speech, 'retiring' when she had her daughter, Ashley. Her second daughter, Lacey, followed nearly 4 years later.

Over the years, Nan moved 15 times, living in 6 different states. They called her a 'stay-at-home mom', however, her job was so much more than that. Everything she did was for her family. Her life consisted of moving from place to place; unpacking, getting her girls settled into new schools and then it was time to pack up and do it all again. She did it flawlessly, with very little appreciation from any of us at the time for her efforts.

Nan was an amazing entertainer and chef. She loved to throw parties, especially if it had a theme. Every day there was a reason to celebrate something and she made even the smallest things special! Growing up we even had a plate that said 'You Are Special' and we'd pass it around the table, celebrating the mini victories of our lives. Her peanut clusters and sourdough bread were legendary. 

She enjoyed shopping and loved a good bargain. She always claimed she saved my Dad millions over the years and we’re pretty sure Amazon has been flying their flag at half-mast since her passing.

Nan was a passionate Catholic. She prayed for anyone and everyone and there was nothing she wouldn’t light a candle for! No matter how old we got, we knew we’d better be in that 2nd pew at 9 am mass or we were in big trouble. The pleasure she got from having her entire family of 9 crammed into that pew was endless! (Apologies to all of those parisihoners around us that were smushed in the process.)

She adored her grandchildren and they could do no wrong! Sidelines, school events, concerts and more - she rarely missed an opportunity to cheer on her grandkids. 

Nan loved genealogy; year after year, notebook after notebook was filled with distant relatives. She had more photos of headstones than most funeral homes. 

Our journey with CJD began just a month ago. On Monday, October 27, Nan was taken to Mayo Clinic ER as she was having problems walking. We didn’t realize that morning that our lives would never be the same. She was admitted and the testing began. Monday turned into Tuesday which turned into Wednesday and so on. Bloodwork was normal, MRI and EEG showed nothing. After much persuasion, the Neurology ‘analysis’ team came in to do an evaluation. Wow, I have never seen anyone fail something quite to the extreme that Nan did that day. We’re talking epic proportions. It was heartbreaking to watch. She came into Mayo largely clear-minded and now she couldn’t tell them where she was, what day of the week it was or even the year. (Oddly enough, she did know who our president was.) As with many things we found out during this journey, this failure was a huge blessing. The Neurology team would never have gotten involved if she didn’t fail so drastically. At that point, they diagnosed her with Alzheimer’s. It was crushing, we couldn’t understand how that could have happened so quickly. We sobbed, mourning what we thought our future looked like. Little did we know…

We feel very blessed to have had an amazing outside advocate in Nan’s corner; someone to oversee and advise us on her care, who took the time to pour over Nan’s records and test results daily. We owe them a debt of gratitude beyond anything we could ever repay.

As Mayo continued to tell us they didn’t know what was wrong with her, we continued to request test after test. We weren’t popular with the doctors but we all know the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We requested and they performed a spinal tap. Even after a week, we heard nothing. Ten days after entering Mayo they released Nan to a rehab center. They were sticking with their Alzheimer’s diagnosis and there was nothing else they could do for us. Our plan was to build up her physical strength a bit and take her for a second opinion.

On November 6th, while sitting in the rehab center, Mom’s phone rang. No one had really touched her phone since she entered the hospital so we weren't monitoring it. It was the Mayo neurologist. She told us that the final spinal fluid test had come back from Rochester and Nan tested positive for a rare brain disorder called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or CJD. Everything stopped. The room got grossly quiet, my stomach dropped. I only wrote down a few words from that conversation: CJD, sporadic, terminal, less than 6 months. I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t answered Nan's phone? What if we hadn’t pushed for a spinal tap? Would we have ever known that her time was limited or would we still think we had years to spend with her?

At that point we knew she was never going to get better and we needed to bring her home. The rehab center was amazing, working with us as we laid out our next steps. On Sunday, November 16th, we brought her home. She always adored her ‘Irish bar’ so it seemed fitting that she stay there. We moved the pool table out and rolled Nan in. Hospice of the Valley came in. The three of us thought we could care for her but after 24 hours we knew we could not do it alone. We found amazing a.m. healthcare and by no small miracle found someone to come in for an hour each evening.

Our caregivers were amazing; it truly takes a special person to do what they do. Day one they sent a wonderful caregiving ‘floater’, someone who moved daily from house-to-house, not servicing just one patient; my Dad adored her and was so bummed to find out she wouldn't be back. However, day two and there she was again and by the grace of God, she was back on Day 3. Z was truly an angel. She massaged mom’s arms, feet, legs and back, washed her hair and had time to have coffee with Dad. She showed such love and kindness to our entire family. Nan would have loved it. It was essentially a 4 hour spa treatment for less than $200 - would have been a bargain like no other in her eyes! She was still saving Dad money even on her deathbed.

On Thursday afternoon, we called our church, Our Lady of Joy. Father Jess came within a few hours. Mom greeted him, he performed final rites, gave her the Apostolic pardon, and Mom attempted to do the sign of the cross. Those were the last words Mom ever spoke. She fell into a deep sleep that evening and never woke again.

When we brought my Mom home, Lacey and I moved in. We ordered Chinese food with Dad, wore matching jammies with Nan, drank champagne and ordered numerous movies from Amazon we figured Dad would never notice (um, he did.) That night about midnight, we noticed Nan’s breathing started to change a bit. We sobbed and told Nan she could leave when she was ready. In true Nan fashion, she would not be told what to do and would do things on her own timeline. (For the record, she was always late - we called it 'Nan time' and learned to adjust our schedules accordingly.)

The next day, November 21st, Amy and Uncle Wes showed up. Dad and Uncle Wes hung out in the other room and we hung with Nan. We shared stories all day, laughing and crying. Her breathing continued to decline. Coco came on her way home from school. About 4 PM, the boys called and talked to her (they had been home the previous weekend and planned to come back again that weekend.) My Grandma called, her sisters called. Now she was finally ready. At 4:50, she took her last breath with all of us inches away. It was so peaceful.

Looking back, maybe we could have seen it coming. She had been struggling with anxiety/depression and insomnia but who hasn't? She had just lost her best friend and sister! We associated her balance issues with vertifgo, which she had on and off over the years. And sure she was forgetful but she’d been that way our whole life! 

We prayed for a miracle and while we didn’t get it in the manner we envisioned, it still occurred. Our Mom never knew she was sick, she was never in any pain, and she suffered just 25 days. She spent her last couple of weeks thinking she was at a resort, watching Hallmark Christmas movies and telling us constantly how much fun she was having. It doesn’t get much better than that. 

We miss her immensely but now we need to figure out how our heartbreak can help others. We can share her story, help raise money for research and educate people on this horrible disease. We will update this page periodically with news, photos or info we have gained. Please feel free to share with others as telling her story is a great way to honor an amazing woman!

CJD has a diagnosis rate of just 1-2 cases per million each year. We've always said Nan was one in a million and this just proves it. xoxo