Nancy Harmon

Nancy Downing Harmon, 73, passed away Thursday morning, after putting up a fight the likes of which cancer has never seen. The lifelong Bellefontaine resident was surrounded by her family, and friends had come from far and wide to visit in her final days.

Life was a gift for Nancy, and it was one she shared with so many. She graduated from the Toledo School of Nursing in 1964 and went straight to work. Of course, she was a pro by then — she started volunteering as a candy striper at Mary Rutan Hospital when she was 15.

Nancy was a nurse her whole life. Much of her career was spent at Mary Rutan. She helped deliver countless babies, worked in the emergency room, made rounds. Surgery was one of her favorites, but she had a lot of favorites. For the better part of a decade, she was the nurse at Bellefontaine Middle School. There she didn’t just distribute medical advice and provide the occasional sick note, she helped the students grow up.

When she stepped into her role as Community Outreach Nurse at Mary Rutan Hospital, she cemented her title as the one and only Nurse Nancy. Kids didn’t think she had a last name. Once, a boy heard her called Nancy Harmon and a worried look crossed his face. “No, no,” he said. “You’re Nurse Nancy.”

Nancy graduated from Bellefontaine High School in 1962, and she and her classmates wouldn’t let you forget it. Their reunions made front page news, and their snowbird tendencies didn’t stop them from meeting up even in Florida and sharing laughs.

Everything was always an adventure with Nancy, and when she was around, life was never boring. She kept her friends and everyone around her doubled over in laughter. She instilled that same behavior in her children and grandchildren. She and husband Dick Harmon drug their grandkids all over the United States, from South Dakota to Florida and everywhere in between.

Nancy had gasoline in her veins, as her dad used to say. As a kid, she would pile six sisters deep into the back of a station wagon bound for Detroit or some other far-flung city to visit her cousins. With Dick, she visited all 50 states, many on a months-long trip in an oversized van that broke down beyond repair somewhere in North Dakota. She was made to be on the move.

She and Dick were married 36 years. Her perfect days were spent with him, on a long drive, going for a scoop of ice cream or watching the sunset over the pasture. He was the love of her life, and she was the love of his. Their adventures, at home and on the road, were endless.

Nancy is survived by husband Dick; children Bonnie Linville, Greg (Linda) Linville and David Linville; Dick’s daughters Vickie (Mike) Crumley, Karen (Keith) Jordan, Trisha (Jeff) Wyatt; grandchildren Colin Byler, Ally Marotti (Dan Conway), Mike (Julia) Marotti, Kayla Byler, Taylor Linville (Jaime Eufracio), Tara Wyatt and Connor Linville; and sisters Barbara (Robert) Floss, Donna Risner, Beverly Edwards and Thelma (Keith) Matthews.  She was preceded in death by a brother, Donald Wayne Downing and a sister, Mary Beth Downing.

Nancy’s life celebration will be held at The Holland Theater, 127 E. Columbus Ave, Bellefontaine at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, July 30, 2018.  Visitation will be on Sunday, July 29th from 1 to 5 p.m. at The Holland Theater.

The arrangements are in care of the Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Bellefontaine.

TD