Nancy Pluckhahn

PLUCKHAHN (Dean),

Nancy Ann

Nancy Ann Dean Pluckhahn passed peacefully away surrounded by loved ones in the home she loved on June 16, 2024. She will be missed every day by her children, Michael Pluckhahn, Thomas Pluckhahn (Rebecca Zarger), Scott Pluckhahn (Keith Crosby), Jill Morgan (Mathew Morgan), and Susan Vizurraga (Felix Vizurraga); by her grandchildren, Ella Pluckhahn, Annie Vizurraga (Mark Spadoni), Christopher Vizurraga (Cat Wheelehan), and Joseph Vizurraga; by seven nieces and nephews, and by the community she served.

Born in Pasadena, California to Marguerite Chellis Aubrey Dean and Charles Leland Dean, and her sister, Sally Jean Dean (Omer), all of whom predeceased her, Nancy grew up in California and then Amery, Wisconsin, where she played clarinet in the high school band, waterskied on Lake Wapogasset, and worked at the A & W root beer stand. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin and traveled solo in her '55 Chevy to Kinderhook, New York, where she taught kindergarten, until she married Jack (Frederick John) Pluckhahn, also a UW grad, moved to the Twin Cities, and had five children. Moving with Jack's job to Wyckoff, New Jersey, and then to Dunwoody, Georgia, Nancy became a full-time homemaker, a part-time Sunday School teacher, a great doubles tennis player, and an undauntable mother to her children who were, at one point, all teenagers at the same time. She traveled with Jack on business trips that took them from Auckland to Lillehammer and from Rio to Ketchikan.

In 1994, as church elders, Nancy and Jack visited the home of a minister with a house for sale. They fell in love with the historic house and the city, and they decided to become part of the Madison community. They joined Madison Presbyterian Church and its ministries, became CASA volunteers, and, when a program was proposed to help feed hungry local families, Nancy became one of the founders of The Caring Place, directing a corps of volunteers who provide weekly boxes of food to neighbors in need. She continued at TCP for over 26 years, retiring only a few months before a fading memory and a failing heart eventually ended her life on earth. Nancy loved her children and grandchildren, dogs, babies, big-band jazz, the Atlanta Braves, and an ice-cold fountain Diet Coke. She believed, as her bumper sticker said, God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions.

A memorial service is planned for Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 11:00 AM, at Madison Presbyterian Church. Those who wish to remember Nancy with a donation are invited to contribute time or funds to The Caring Place of Morgan County.