Nancy was an Aptos friend who's wit was way underestimated. At first appearing shy, I soon found out that she was one of the funniest people I had ever met. In seventh grade, Mr. Lee's wonderful class, we were given a group assignment. I was to interview three important figures of our time: Neil Val Kaathoven was Nehru, Barbara Pylant was Hailie Selasse, and Nancy was Ghandi. We wrote the script together after researching who in the hell these people were and why they were important at the time. Since we didn't have a school library, we had to go to the tiny Aptos Library so Nancy and I decided to go get books needed to do our research. We sat on the floor in the aisle while reading about these people and died laughing at how my subjects would have to look in order to portray these world leaders. Nancy was trying to figure out how to wear a Ghandi "diaper" and finally decided to wear tights with a a white table cloth wrapped around her middle. She did not go topless. She was incredibly brave.
While meeting with Neil and Barbara, Neil said he already had a Nehru shirt and would wear that with a sash with some jewelry on it. Barbara needed a cape but since we didn't have any lion skins available, she used a blue quilted skirt that she fastened around her neck and it made the best cape ever. Yes, we did use "blackface" not intending to insult anyone. We were 12 and it was late 1959. We didn't know any better.
When we performed, Nancy, who had been in near hysterics the entire time and knew she'd get the most laughs from the class, kept her composure throughout the interview and played her part magnificently. I wore my hair in a bun with librarian style glasses and a clipboard with my notes. Neil was also great, but Barbara, who had donned a black wig without dredlocks, was biting the inside of her mouth to keep from even smiling. I think she drew blood. Mr. Lee was hiding behind his gradebook but I could see his shoulders moving up and down and I knew he was dying inside, but we soldiered on.
When it was over we went out of the room to great applause and changed our clothes. Nancy was nearly in tears as she told me she had never been so scared in her life and was glad it was over. We told her what a great job she did to stay in character and she said her face was frozen. We all earned an A in social studies that quarter.
Nancy also played on our softball team and we traveled to other small schools to play. She wasn't the fastest runner but she had an arm that wouldn't quit. She left Rio for awhile but came back to Watsonville High later on. We were good Facebook pals for several years. Her and her husbands favorite get-away was Aruba. They would get a condo right on the beach nearly every year and just relax, read and enjoy the scenery. She became ill in 2019, I believe, and try though she did, she couldn't beat her disease. I will never forget her smile and that wicked wit. My sincere condolences to her husband and her entire family. She loved them beyond belief. They were her greatest joy. Rest in peace, my sweet friend. Karen
Karen Kelley (Lund)
Nancy was an Aptos friend who's wit was way underestimated. At first appearing shy, I soon found out that she was one of the funniest people I had ever met. In seventh grade, Mr. Lee's wonderful class, we were given a group assignment. I was to interview three important figures of our time: Neil Val Kaathoven was Nehru, Barbara Pylant was Hailie Selasse, and Nancy was Ghandi. We wrote the script together after researching who in the hell these people were and why they were important at the time. Since we didn't have a school library, we had to go to the tiny Aptos Library so Nancy and I decided to go get books needed to do our research. We sat on the floor in the aisle while reading about these people and died laughing at how my subjects would have to look in order to portray these world leaders. Nancy was trying to figure out how to wear a Ghandi "diaper" and finally decided to wear tights with a a white table cloth wrapped around her middle. She did not go topless. She was incredibly brave.
While meeting with Neil and Barbara, Neil said he already had a Nehru shirt and would wear that with a sash with some jewelry on it. Barbara needed a cape but since we didn't have any lion skins available, she used a blue quilted skirt that she fastened around her neck and it made the best cape ever. Yes, we did use "blackface" not intending to insult anyone. We were 12 and it was late 1959. We didn't know any better.
When we performed, Nancy, who had been in near hysterics the entire time and knew she'd get the most laughs from the class, kept her composure throughout the interview and played her part magnificently. I wore my hair in a bun with librarian style glasses and a clipboard with my notes. Neil was also great, but Barbara, who had donned a black wig without dredlocks, was biting the inside of her mouth to keep from even smiling. I think she drew blood. Mr. Lee was hiding behind his gradebook but I could see his shoulders moving up and down and I knew he was dying inside, but we soldiered on.
When it was over we went out of the room to great applause and changed our clothes. Nancy was nearly in tears as she told me she had never been so scared in her life and was glad it was over. We told her what a great job she did to stay in character and she said her face was frozen. We all earned an A in social studies that quarter.
Nancy also played on our softball team and we traveled to other small schools to play. She wasn't the fastest runner but she had an arm that wouldn't quit. She left Rio for awhile but came back to Watsonville High later on. We were good Facebook pals for several years. Her and her husbands favorite get-away was Aruba. They would get a condo right on the beach nearly every year and just relax, read and enjoy the scenery. She became ill in 2019, I believe, and try though she did, she couldn't beat her disease. I will never forget her smile and that wicked wit. My sincere condolences to her husband and her entire family. She loved them beyond belief. They were her greatest joy. Rest in peace, my sweet friend. Karen
Ken Domries
Sorry to hear about this, I remember Nancy from Mr Lee's class also.