Nancy Ball Levinson
Sept. 6, 1933-April 20, 2022
Nancy Ball Levinson was found deceased in her home on April 20, 2022, after a request for a wellness check. She was 88 years old. Nancy was born Sept. 6, 1933, in Wisconsin, where she grew up. She had an older brother, but he was so much older she often commented she grew up like an only child.
In the early 1960s Nancy and her husband Dan met while attending the University of California at Berkeley, where Dan graduated with a major in science and Nancy with a major in botany. She also graduated with a bachelor’s of science with honors from the University of Wisconsin. They were married in Contra Costa, California, on April 9, 1960. From her writing we know they often hiked the high Sierras and made a memorable trip across the U.S. in their little VW Bug. They visited Alaska in the early 1970s, and fell in love with Homer. Dan was offered a position at the Nome High School teaching Biology, and Nancy became the school secretary.
In 2000, when they retired, they moved to Homer, and within a week had purchased their dream house. Nancy lived alone since the passing of her beloved Dan in 2003. In a beautiful memorial, one of his students commented the team of “Dan ‘n’ Nancy” taught and influenced 2,800 students during their years in Nome, students who have become the leaders in their communities thanks to their influence.
Nancy was also known for her photography and gardening skills, raising prize daffodils, often the first to bloom in Homer, known as “Nancy’s Daffies.” She worked tirelessly in her yard which included tulips, forget me nots, and a most healthy raspberry patch. Her pets were her children.
Nancy was a consistent supporter of world humanitarian and environmental charities and artwork projects in Homer. At the Pratt Museum & Park, when one viewed an art exhibit and read the artist’s bio and narrative, or poems and description by a piece of art work, Nancy Levinson did the “dry Mount” work. She assisted the development director in hanging shows. The Pratt Museum & Park was another love of her life. Nancy contributed to the Writers Group, recently rewriting her poetry about the cross country trip she and Dan made in the 1960s. She had completed making 50 copies of the 85-page document, a project that took a lot of her energy.
Nancy is dearly missed by those of us who knew her and loved her, including her four-footed “child”who is back at the animal shelter looking for another loving home.
Her humor and writing skills were a treasure for us all.
Per her will, her ashes will be scattered on Kachemak Bay, just as Dan’s were.
