Nancy Vandel
A lively, memorable seven and a half decade global journey came to a natural end on Nov. 25, 2007 in Salt Lake City, for Nancy Vandel. She can finally rest easy and will never have to move again.
Born Jan. 7, 1932, in Sidney, Neb., Nancy Whitmore was introduced to the challenges of life at an early age. She was born with a misshapen arm that led to many operations and multiple years of piano lessons in an effort to make music out of her malady.
At an early age, Nancy's parents moved the family to the small town of Mitchell, Neb., where her father managed a creamery. It was there in kindergarten that Nancy met a boy named Bob Vandel. They eventually noticed each other enough to begin dating in high school. A few years later in 1953, Bob hitchhiked from his army base in Georgia all the way to Nebraska and arrived just in time for their wedding (raising the eyebrows and ire of his future in-laws).
Nancy and Bob then moved to Lincoln to finish college at the University of Nebraska. Nancy became a teacher and taught in numerous schools. Along the way, she and Bob somehow raised four rambunctious sons along with a menagerie of pets, including a basset hound, St. Bernard, several English Sheepdogs and some fearless cats. Naturally, there were many sleepless nights and trips to the ER and vet.
After college, they moved to Scottsbluff, Neb., where Bob worked for the Great Western Sugar Company. In 1965, the family moved to Denver, and then to Billings in 1969. As Bob moved up the sugar bin ladder, Nancy continued to teach and was a longtime member of PEO. In 1979, Bob gave up sugar for salt and they moved to Ogden, where he worked for Great Salt Lake Minerals.
Two years later, in a move that dumbfounded virtually everyone in the family, Bob and Nancy packed their bags and "Big Red" mementos and moved to Saudi Arabia to work for Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). They lived in Ras Tanura, across the street from the Arabian Sea for five years. While there, they traveled far and wide, including one caravan across the desert to the Red Sea to go scuba diving.
In 1986, Bob was laid off from Aramco and they returned to Ogden. Before they had cleaned the sand from their hair, Bob landed a position with Jetway, a global manufacturer of airport boarding bridges. This launched them on another series of overseas moves and adventures. Bob and Nancy lived in Germany, Austria, Poland, Indonesia, Thailand and China - moving every couple of years and making a complete mess out of their friends' address books. Nancy had various teaching assignments abroad and learned how to shop daily using gestures and signs that surely left many a shopkeeper clueless. Somehow they survived.
When Bob retired, he and Nancy returned to their home in Ogden. They bought a condo in Big Sky, Mont., and spent many fun times there with family and friends. As Bob was settling in to enjoy his later years, he was struck with cancer and died in 2001. Nancy lived on in Ogden, keeping busy with volunteer work and then moved to Salt Lake City to be closer to her sons. Her latest residence was Brighton Gardens, which became her final destination. It was the final stop in a life fully lived.
Surviving Nancy are her four sons, Tom (Susan), Stuart (Janet), John (Diane) and Jeff (Kim); two sisters, Sandra Whitmore and Ann Hansen; and seven grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Dec. 1, at 11 a.m., at Memorial House in Memory Grove Park in Salt Lake City. Remembrances to the National Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601.
Go Big Red!