NANCY MARIE MORGENTHALER

Richland, WA


Einan's Funeral Home


Nancy Marie Morgenthaler of Richland, Washington, died May 12, 2011, at the age of 90 years. Born in Sayre, Oklahoma, on December 1, 1920, she was the second of the four children of Tolbert and Otha (Stone) Dugger of Sayre. She lived in Richland, Washington, for over 62 years.



Following high school, she attended the School of Nursing at St. Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City, a high intensity three year residency program of the Sisters of Saint Anthony. This was a full time course with only weekends and breaks for major holidays and produced very skilled and highly disciplined nurses.


After graduating in 1942, Nancy moved to Portland, Oregon, to work and rejoin her family who relocated west following her father's retirement from the family wholesale grocery business. She attended the University of Washington from 1945 to 1948, where she received a degree in Chemistry and met her future husband Al Morgenthaler. Al was one of the original engineers hired by GE to begin peacetime operation of Hanford. The couple married in November 1948 and soon moved into their new home on Birch Street where they lived together for over 50 years.


Nancy and Al made many lifelong friends in Richland, several of whom are active and alert today. Their monthly bridge club, for example, included six couples who played together for over 50 years. Nancy was also an early and life long member of PEO Chapter DT and served as president and other service positions. PEO is a philanthropic organization dedicated to the advancement of women through education, which is a goal that she advocated her entire life.


Raising two sons, she also worked as a registered nurse at Kadlec Hospital where she was highly sought due to her excellent training and unfailing compassion. Eventually Nancy retired from nursing and helped start the nursing program at Columbia Basin College where she taught for several years. Many of her students remember her as their most demanding and toughest teacher, and the best.


Always a student, her hobbies focused on the study of nature, science, geography and her Cherokee heritage. She loved star gazing and was a long time member of the Tri City Astronomy Club. In later years, Al and Nancy traveled frequently including several trips to Alaska, Barbados, the Panama Canal, Tahiti and China. She also enjoyed swimming, fishing, camping, sailing with Al, and most of all her daily two mile walks.


Nancy is survived by son Albert Boyd Morgenthaler (Kathryn), granddaughter Anna Marie Sobolesky (Keith) and great-grandson Kyle Alexander Sobolesky, her brothers-in-law David Shade of Tulsa, OK, Paul Crews of Anchorage AK, and many nieces and nephews. She leaves her dear friend and sister in spirit Mary Gustavson, and many other wonderful friends. Preceding her in death were her parents, husband Al, son Robert William Morgenthaler, sister Linnie Dee Walker, brother Harry Dugger, and sister Blanche Shade.


A celebration of life will be held at Northwest United Protestant Church in Richland on Saturday, May 28, at 11 am, with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Nancy Morgenthaler Nursing Endowment Fund, at Columbia Basin College, 2600 N 20th Ave, Pasco, WA 99301.


Express your thoughts and memories on our online Guestbook at www.einansfuneralhome.com.