Nancy Esgar

Nancy Kay Esgar passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Friday, July 18, 2025 and went to her heavenly home after a brief illness. She was born to Norman and Florence (Reeder) Willard on March 16, 1938 in Mendota, IL. She grew up on her family's farm in Mendota, attending a rural one room schoolhouse for her first eight years of school and then graduating from Mendota High School in 1956. Nancy received a scholarship to Illinois State University at Normal earning a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics. She met and fell in love with Ken Esgar while doing her student teaching at Mazon High School, and then she took a full time position teaching Home Economics at Morris High School from 1960-61. Nancy and Ken were married on December 28, 1960 and soon after started their family. She was a member of the Rochelle Methodist Church and of the Women's Guild Circle. Nancy volunteered at the Rochelle Christian Food Pantry for 15 years and along with Ken received the 2000 Rochelle Community Leader Award for all the volunteer work they did. Nancy lived a full and active life, raising four sons, attending all their sporting events and band concerts, continuing to substitute teach at many of the Rochelle Elementary Schools, finding time to hand sew beautiful quilts, maintaining a stunning floral garden and baking delicious desserts that everyone looked forward to. Her family especially enjoyed her rhubarb pie with flaky crust made from scratch. She also liked to play cards with her ladies card club, but most of all Nancy loved to travel with Ken and his sister and her husband traveling to almost all fifty states. They also traveled to Europe enjoying the sites of England, Ireland, Germany and Austria to name a few. She loved to visit her son Tim at his home in Colorado and going to the Amish areas, but the trips she enjoyed the most were the yearly fishing trips to Sioux Lookout, Canada which they did for many years. Nancy touched so many lives and all who knew her will miss her greatly. She is preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband of almost 65 years, Kenneth Esgar of Rochelle, her sons Kevin (Erran) Esgar of South Elgin, Scott Esgar of Loves Park, Timothy Esgar of Paonia, CO, and Brian (Marci) Esgar of Rochelle; her grandchildren Haley Esgar, Kasey (Zack) Kramer, Dylan Esgar, Erin Esgar, Ashlyn Esgar, Heaven Esgar, Hayden Esgar, and Hunter Esgar; her great grandchildren Elle, Brooklyn, and Arlo; her brother James Willard; and her cousins Gayle Kern and David Willard. Visitation will be on Thursday, July 24 at Unger-Horner Funeral Home from 5-7 pm. Memorial service to be held on Friday, July 25 at the Rochelle United Methodist Church at 10 am. Burial will follow at Lawnridge Cemetery in Rochelle. A luncheon will be provided at Rochelle United Methodist Church Hicks Hall at noon. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made out to the David Crawford Foundation or the Rochelle United Methodist Church. Guest book at www.UngerHorner.com To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Nancy Esgar, please click here to visit our sympathy store.