Nancy Atma Brooks

Nancy was born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 31, 1934 to Olive and Stanley Atma, she was the fifth daughter of six children. Olive and Stanley instilled solid life skills in their children. Many of Nancy’s passions and talents were developed while she was young. She would help Olive preserve food for the family and help her in their garden. Her love of gardening grew after retirement when she completed the Master Gardner program in 1997. Stanley, who owned a car dealership, gave her a lifelong love of cars. She was also one of his fishing partners and accompanied him to horse races giving her the love of chance. Nancy was an extremely lucky gambler and all who know her will attest to her good fortune at the machines. Nancy excelled at making and maintaining relationships. Her close relationship with her siblings was maintained throughout her life along with friendships with high school and college friends. In turn that led to the development of one of her best talents; that of making others feel special, as though they were the only one that mattered.

Nancy attended Ohio Wesleyan University and belonged to the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta. She was part of the Associated Women Students (AWS) and gained her degree in home economics, graduating with a BA. Outside of curriculum, she was crowned homecoming queen and served in many other capacities of leadership. Along the way she met David Nystrom, who also attended Ohio Wesleyan, and they were married in 1956.

They moved to Colorado and raised their 3 children, Elizabeth, Susan and Eric. During this time, Nancy wasn’t just a “homemaker”, she was a devoted mother, the heart of the home. She preserved the food grown in their very large garden that she maintained, she was a Girl Scout leader for Elizabeth’s troop and she served on the financial committee for Mountain View Methodist Church along with many more endeavors. She loved to entertain at the house, bringing family and friends together. Her instrumental contribution at home and supporting the family business, C&M Companies, brought her great success.

As her children grew older, Nancy embarked on a very successful career at Golden West Manor. She was hired as the activity director and ultimately, became the facility administrator. Her accomplishments were many, including, overseeing an entire project addition of a new Assisted Living wing at Golden West. Her talent for making others feel special was put to good use with the Seniors she served. She had a special understanding that helped reassure them to adjust with confidence to the changes around them. She retired from Golden West Manor in 1994.

In 1993 she married Dick Brooks. They had a wonderful 3 years together before Dick’s passing. They enjoyed traveling and taking care of Dick’s many quarter horses, he raised.

Nancy was never sedentary and that continued. She immersed herself into volunteering even more than she had in the past. She was active in the Boulder Community Hospital Auxiliary and worked tirelessly at the gift shop which grew under her tenure. Hospital employees and patients would look forward to see what Nancy would add to the shop when new merchandise arrived. She was honored to receive the Outstanding Volunteer award numerous times. She had great friends who volunteered and helped her at the gift shop. Being a member of P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) was also a passion of hers. She served as president of her P.E.O. chapter and was also a board member of the Chapter House in Colorado Springs.

Nancy was devoted to her family. Whether it was getting everyone together for a holiday meal, taking the grandchildren to annual Christmas plays, going on trips together, planning family reunions, helping pick out furniture or flowers for their gardens, she was there. Her unconditional love for her family will live on for generations.

Nancy is survived by her sister Connie Chapman and preceded in death by her siblings Doris Schmitt, Jean Roodhuyzen, Marge Atma, and Stanley Atma.

She is survived by her three children Elizabeth (Dave), Susan (Brian) and Eric (Tara) who will carry forward her legacy of love, generosity and strength. She was blessed with seven grandchildren, Travis, Kelsey, Tiffany, Lexie, Helena, Olive and Peter and 11 wonderful great grandchildren that just adored “Great Grandma”.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday, August 22, 2025 at Lionsgate Event Center (1055 US 287, Lafayette) in the Dove House at 1:00. 

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to: P.E.O Foundation, IMO Nancy Brooks, Chapter EY, Boulder, Colorado. Mail to: P.E.O. Foundation, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA. 50312.