Nancy Spenst

1947 - 2024

Nancy Spenst
June 2, 1947 - November 13, 2024
Nancy Lorraine Spenst, (nee Kennedy, ex Eakin) was born in Pittsburgh, PA on June 2, 1947, to Ray and Gertrude "Hap" Kennedy.
The earliest story I heard about Nancy was that her dad received a call from a neighbor, in then forested North Seattle. The neighbor said they found six-year-old Nancy inside their corral, uninvited, boldly approaching their large horse.
Sometime later, Nancy decided to get a teaching degree, but it wouldn't be from Seattle. Ellensburg was where the horses and cowboys dwelt.
She and her cowboy, Ron Eakin, purchased a horse from the Nez Perce: ChiChi. Nancy loved taking ChiChi along the Columbia Gorge behind the Quincy lakes toward Frenchman Coulee and up Icicle Creek above Leavenworth.
It was due to the immense generosity and grace of Ray & Peggy Emtman that Nancy was able to keep her horses after the divorce. Quincy apartments were proving difficult with their draconian no-horse policies.
For some time, Nancy changed water, thinned and picked apples and was a teacher's aide at the George Washington Elementary School in George, WA. She remembered driving pea truck in the spring. The cool, late-night drives between Wenatchee and farms around Quincy, and trading quips with the men.
Mom helped the Painter family move cows up or down the mountains north of Spokane. On one such trip she chased after a maverick that was making for a tree line. However, ChiChi, who loved nothing more than chasing cows, was stubbornly resistant. Nancy's focus was more on the gas pedal than the road. As Nancy and calf neared the tree line, the calf paused and turned around.
It was a bear cub.
Nancy wasn't much known for letting things go, but she did that day; and ChiChi recovered her pace.
Nancy loved showing people her horses, and later her dream home in Ephrata. She took real pleasure in being an engaging host. She sincerely wanted people to feel good about themselves and for them to feel heard and seen.
She often watched black & white-hat westerns, often in black and white. She knew every actor and every scene. She really liked Last of the Dogmen and Last of the Mohicans; and curiously, regardless the genre, anything with Harrison Ford, Tom Selleck or Sam Elliot.
Her life changed when she began to work at Lamb Weston in Quincy; in no small part as that's where she met her husband, Jay Spenst.
She sincerely loved the people of Lamb Weston and their incredible support. She recognized the tremendous value that making Lamb Weston her employer made toward her lifelong dream: acres of dryland, a barn and a handsome handyman for her horses. The retirement lunches were a sincere pleasure for her.
Nancy passed away on November 13th, 2024. She's returning to Icicle Creek, where her father went before her. He shared with her his love of the quiet outdoors. There also lie some of her deepest riding memories.
Nancy is survived by her loving husband, Jay Spenst; her children, Ryan and Randy Eakin and Justin Spenst; her brother and sister, Joel Kennedy and Carolyn Kriley; her grandchildren Tyson, Chris and Rachelle Eakin; and the aging duo, Choya the crabby appy and Gus the lap donkey.
Photos and memories are encouraged at, www.Scharbachs.com.