Nancy Wooldridge

Nancy Wooldridge, age 84 of Los Alamos, NM, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, surrounded by loving family. A fifth generation Houstonian, she was born to loving parents, who left this world too soon, in her youth, driving her lifelong independent spirit.
She attended University of Texas as an English major, fueled by her love of reading. She had a library built in place of a dining room, and filled it with Dickens (her favorite), Shakespeare, Keats and Shelly all of which she read and reread, always with a book at her side.
As a child, she rode horses along Buffalo Bayou, then owned and cared for horses for much of her life. Fascinated by animals, she raised parakeets in her youth, and after marriage, adopted a monkey, dog and two ocelots, Monster and Trouble. Her life was always filled with the fun and chaos that she had invited. Her children will be happy to tell you her "Elvis Story." In quiet moments, she worked on her needlepoint, some of which she had framed, decorating her home. She grew up attending St Luke's Methodist Church, which her parents helped found before later joining a Baptist Church where she sang in the choir. Upon moving to New Mexico, she attended FUMC.
She worked at Southwestern Bell, where she met lifelong friends, Ronnie, Brenda and HO. Their work may have been boring, but their workplace was not. A memorable talent show featured Nancy in a red bird costume singing along with Rockin' Robin.
Her family often traveled to New Braunfels to vacation with Aunt Katherine Burton, who owned a house along the Comal River, which has always held a place in her heart. Summers with her three children were often spent there with cousins, on a beach house
on Bolivar or at Aunt Fancy's in Ennis. She met her husband Joe in New Braunfels, where she had moved so she could spend more time on her beloved Comal River, swimming, tubing and collecting interesting rocks.
Nancy had a strongly developed sense of social justice, making sure her children attended a fully integrated school, and in her words and deeds, raised them to believe everyone has value. She didn't care for anonymity in AA and counseled and sponsored others for over 40 years. She could befriend anyone, and often did at the most random moments, baffling her shy children - who then have found themselves as adults doing the same.
The phrase "she suffered no fools" was true of her, but not in a haughty supercilious way. Most often, she would manage to get what she wanted through some magic of diplomacy, tact, kindness and guile. In her final years at Clovis Home Healthcare, she had lost some of that diplomatic magic and sometimes would make less-than-gracious demands, usually for a Coca Cola. Her granddaughter, Caroline, visited her often, cared for her, and kept her supplied with Cokes and chocolate. The staff cared for her with a love that superseded their job descriptions. Arlene Garcia helped care for her when she lived in Los Alamos with Susannah, as did Los Alamos Betty Ehart Senior Center's Day Out program. Her family is grateful for all of this additional support and love extended to her as she endured dementia in her final decade of life.
She is preceded in death by her parents, J Dealy and Elizabeth Smallwood, her sister, Betty (Jack) Leeka, and her husband, Joe Wooldridge. Survivors include her three children, John Scarborough (Rose) of New Braunfels TX, Susannah Rousculp (Chris) of Los Alamos NM, and James Scarborough (Amy) of Arlington TX. Her grandchildren: Caroline, Camille, Catherine, Timothy Rousculp, Hannah, Hope, Halle Scarborough and Annie Scarborough-Worley (Erick), and great grandson Micah Worley. They will miss her deeply. She equally loved her step-grandchildren, Michelle, Jason, Yliana and Zenia Salazar and Joe's children, especially Jason Wooldridge. Her nephew, Jay Leeka (Ben Yin) and niece Elizabeth (Mark) Albert were always close to her heart.
A memorial service will be held at: First United Methodist Church, 715 Diamond Drive in Los Alamos NM on September 20, 2025 at 10 a.m. The celebration of life along the Comal will be on July 29, 2026, likely with a memorial bench in her honor.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Muffley Funeral Home, www.muffleyfuneralhome.com, (575) 762-4435.