Nancy Appling

1927 - 2020

Nancy Appling passed away peacefully on Nov. 10, 2020 on her 93rd birthday. She was born on Nov. 10, 1927 to Claude and Edith Good, in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. In 1944 she graduated from Hazleton High School as class valedictorian and went on to study fashion design at the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York City. Employed by Horowitz and Duberman, Inc. she became recognized as one of the outstanding young designers in New York. From 1946-1951 her designs were featured in Fashion Digest, Charm, Good Housekeeping, Women's Day, Mayfair, Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, McCalls, Seventeen, and Ladies Home Journal. She was also featured on the covers of Glamour and Mademoiselle magazines.

After relocating to Kansas City, Missouri in 1950 to work for Gay Gibson, Nancy met her future husband, and on July 21, 1951 she married Robert Lynn Appling after a brief six-month courtship. With the arrival of their first child in 1952, Nancy left the fashion world and devoted herself to raising a family that eventually included five children - three daughters and twin sons. In 1958 the family moved to Hillsborough, California. Nancy got involved in Girl Scouts, first as a troop leader and later in volunteer positions with the Tri-City Council and the Northern California Board. She believed strongly in the importance of supporting girls.

Nancy had a deep love of classical music, and was a great supporter of the arts. She also believed strongly in volunteerism. She was a member of St. Andrews and Hope Lutheran Churches in San Mateo. For many years she directed "Fish", providing medical transport to seniors. She managed a homeless shelter for Hope. She loved distributing food, back-to-school supplies, holiday meals and Christmas presents to disadvantaged families. Her faith was always reflected in action.

Nancy's favorite pastimes were golf and bridge, and she and Bob were members of the Peninsula Golf and Country Club. As her kids grew older and she was able to play more golf, she became quite competitive! She placed in or won numerous championships during the 1980's, a matter of great pride. She and Bob enjoyed a long and active retirement. They traveled with the country club. They toured Japan with their daughter Laurie, who was living there. They often visited Hawaii, Carmel, and Palm Desert to golf and spend time with a close-knit group of friends. They shared a devoted marriage for 52 years until Bob's passing in 2003, at the age of 82.

Nancy was a bright, talented woman with a strong sense of purpose. She was stoic in the Pennsylvania Dutch way, and in the way of her generation. She also had quite a good, and occasionally sharp, sense of humor! She expressed contentment at the end of her life that she had done what she wanted to do. She will be deeply missed.

Nancy is predeceased by her husband Bob, her parents and siblings, and her son Marc. She is survived by four children and two grandsons: Leslie Appling of Joshua Tree, CA (Erika Sohn Lopez-Forment), Laurie Appling of Penn Valley, CA (Dennis Coulter), Dana Appling of Salt Lake City, UT, Grant Appling of San Mateo, CA, Erich Coulter of McKinleyville, CA and Andrew Coulter of San Francisco, CA. as well as by her many nieces and nephews, loved ones and community.

A celebration of life will be held in the spring. Donations would be gratefully accepted, and may be sent to Girl Scouts of Northern California.