Nancy Ann (Gobert) Flynn

            Biography of Nancy Ann Flynn by her loving and spoiled husband Dan

     Nancy was born in Paris, Illinois on November 29, 1941. She lived in Paris through 6th grade then moved to Morris, Illinois. She graduated from Morris High School with honors and played the bassoon in the MHS concert band.

     Upon completing high school she enrolled at the University of Illinois majoring in Home Economics and Child Development. She also played bassoon in the U of I concert band. After graduating, Nancy obtained her first job teaching kindergarten at Kings Road Elementary School in Dundee, Illinois.

     On August 21, 1965 she married Dan Flynn in Carpentersville, Illinois. A short time later they moved to Bloomington, Minnesota and purchased their first home. Nancy was a true homemaker. Being a capable seamstress she not only made her own wedding dress but made all the draperies along with clothing for the children and doing all the mending. Wow!

      Nancy also managed the family household.  She paid bills, did laundry, cooked   fantastic family meals, chauffeured the children whenever needed, helped with their homework, and tended them when sick. About the only thing she didn’t do was mowing the lawn or shoveling snow.

       Nancy also raised three wonderful children. Kerri Lynn was born in Elgin, Illinois at General Sherman Hospital. Timothy Daniel was born when we moved to Bloomington at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1970 while in Bloomington Nancy established Saint Edward’s Preschool from the ground up. She developed the curriculum, purchased all the supplies and hired an additional teacher. The school is still in operation today.

       Never known to live any place too long we moved to Beaverton, Oregon in 1974.  Kristin Elizabeth was born at Saint Vincent Hospital in Portland. Nancy did not teach in Oregon due to the fact that Dan travelled a lot as a Sales Manager for John Sexton and Company. They made another move to University Place, Washington in 1978.

     Once established Nancy took up teaching preschool at University Place Co-op,    Fircrest Co-op and prekindergarten at University Place Elementary  School.  She finished her teaching career at Green Gables Elementary School in Federal Way.  Nancy retired in 1998. In order to keep busy she devoted her time to her family and Grandchildren. She liked nothing better than to prepare a feast for them for special holidays. Amen to Nancy the greatest Wife, Mother and Grandmother. 

 

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And Now a View From a Child's Perspective:

Nancy Ann Flynn ~ By her son Tim Flynn            

First, I would like to thank all of you for your support and kind words for my Mom over the last two difficult weeks.  It means a lot to my family and that everyone is thinking of her at this time.

I feel as though I could write a book about my Mom’s life so I will do my best to keep this brief:

My Mom was a very sensitive and compassionate person that was committed to her family.  She loved her husband and family deeply.  My Mom and Dad were married for 50 years.  It would have been their 51st in August.  Together, their commitment to us and one another has set a great example for all of us.   My Mom will be survived by a wonderful family:   Kerri, Tim(Wife Lauri ), Krissy( Husband Pat ),  and Four Grandchildren:  Taylor, Jake, Colby and Colin. 

Mom grew up as an only child in the small towns of Paris and Morris, Illinois.   She would often talk about the large extended family gatherings that took place every Sunday after church and on every Birthday and Holiday.  It was during these gatherings that she formed a bond with her cousin Ellen.  I’m told that they were together so much they were more like sisters that became best friends.  They stayed very close continuing to talk up until a couple of weeks ago.   Once we moved away she still loved having her relatives close to her no matter if it was in Minnesota, Oregon or Washington.  During the Holidays, the family events seemed to always be at the Flynn house.  I have very fond memories of visits from Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and more. 

Mom loved cooking. I’m not sure how she did it but there always seemed to be a home cooked meal ready at dinner time.  Some of my favorites were beef stroganoff, homemade spaghetti and meatballs, turkey stuffing, broccoli casserole and lots and lots of rolls.  A favorite memory as a teenager was when friends came over after school we would have a “snack” so that we could make it to dinner.  We would literally look thru the refrigerator and all the cupboards to see what we could find.  There were never any leftovers around for very long.  Many times the same friends stayed for dinner.   She always found a way to have enough for whoever stayed. 

She also loved to bake all types of cookies, cakes, and pies especially during the Holidays.  Some of our family favorites are still Special chocolate Cake, Lemon Bars, Christmas cookies, and pumpkin pie. 

Besides spending time with family she had a passion for teaching children.  This was especially true for Pre-school.  She started a private pre-school at church that I attended until starting Kindergarten.  Once settled in Washington she taught at Co-op preschools in the University Place and Fircrest area until she retired.  Once retired she felt it was more important to help out and teach the grandkids.    She loved the kids so much that she would put everything on hold just to get the chance to hold them in her lap for a couple of hours while they were sleeping. 

Mom also included pets as part of the family.  The most memorable were Murphy, a gentle Golden Retriever, Max, a German Shepard I adopted and she kept when I moved out, Fred, a cat we found at a gas station, and Tilly, a cat that only cared for her.  She loved treating all of them as an important part of the family.

Family vacations were very important to my Mom.  Her favorite place to go was Cape Lookout State Park on the Oregon Coast.  We spent what felt like days loading up the camping trailer then headed out to find a spot with “hookups” so we could have running water and electricity.  My mom planned lots of good meals and dad built very large camp fires.  I always thought it was cool to sleep in a tent away from my sisters.  Most of all it was a time to relax, play on the beach, and have fun.

It’s amazing that my mom managed to raise a family, teach pre-school, still cook for us and show up to all our activities.  She was always there to support us no matter if it was school, sports, band or something else.  Among all of this she still taught us strong values and the importance of family, hard work, kindness and generosity.

Due to her medical issues over the last couple of years my Mom wasn’t able to put on the large family dinners like she wanted to.  I hope that we can all continue to support and celebrate family to the level she did. She gave us a great example to learn from and it is our job to pass along these same strong values.

I will miss my Mom and Love her very much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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