It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that our sister, Nancy “Nanc” Gould, died peacefully at home on Tuesday, January 4, 2020, after a lengthy illness. Nancy was born to Dr. Allan and Marilyn Gould in Rochester on October 30, 1958, followed a few minutes later by her twin brother Will. Nancy and Will have the unique distinction of being the first babies baptized at what was then the new First Methodist Church, known today as Christ United Methodist Church. Nancy graduated from Rochester Mayo High School and went on to be the first woman to graduate from the Auto Mechanics program at Rochester Vo-Tech. She was very proudly ASE certified, and proud to have opened the door for other women to follow in her footsteps.
In addition to her career in the auto industry, Nancy was a skilled needleworker, gardener and baker. All of her family have been gifted with examples of the beauty she was able to create with needle and thread. She also had the greenest thumb of any of us, able to grow anything with apparent ease. She was the only one of the six kids to inherit both of these skills from our parents. And the baked goods she made were incredible. There always seemed to be something rising, baking or cooling in her kitchen.
Nancy was a nature lover from early childhood, from rescuing baby birds to feeding everything that moved, from the multitude of feeders outside her windows in more recent years. She spent several years in and around Yellowstone National Park. In Gardiner, Mont., Nancy met a little golden retriever pup she named Keefer. Nancy and Keefer were inseparable, and totally devoted to each other for many years.
Nancy was our dad’s primary caregiver for the last years of his life. She took on this challenging task willingly and performed it with grace, kindness and humor.
Nancy was proceeded in death by her parents and grandparents. She is survived by her siblings: twin Will Gould of Peterson, Minn., Tom (Kathi) Gould of Savage, Minn., Ann LaFee of Aurora, Ill., Jane Gould of Grayslake, Ill., and Cathy (Doug) Thoen of Rochester. She is also survived by nieces and nephews Allan Gould, Caitlin Hoover, Lauren Wienberger, Jennifer Petersen, Julia Fischer, Christian Gould, Bryan Thoen and Brent Thoen. There are also an ever-expanding number of great-nieces and nephews.
There will be a private family graveside service in the spring. Should you so desire, memorials are suggested to the Poverello Foundation, c/o Mayo Clinic Department of Development, 200 1st St SW, Rochester, Minn. 55905.
Finally, a message to Nanc from all of us who love her. We miss you already and hope you and Keefer find a nice fishing hole up there. DFYNIG!