Nancy Kerr Ketcham
March 21, 1922 - March 3, 2011
Obituary
Nancy Kerr Ketcham
Nan Ketcham was born in Seattle in 1922. She died peacefully surrounded by her family on March 3, 2011. Nan graduated from Garfield High School and attended the University of Washington and Barnard College. She loved literature, and she returned to the University when her children were grown to finish her degree, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1974. Nan’s involvement with the University continued throughout her life. She took courses well into her seventies, and in 2002 she established an endowed professorship in English.
Nan married Henry H. Ketcham Jr, Pete, also a Seattle native, in Gulfport Mississippi in 1944. After the war they returned to the Northwest and started a family. Nan and Pete raised their four children on Capitol Hill and at their home on Bainbridge Island, where family and friends have gathered every summer for generations. Nan was a past board member of the Seattle Repertory Theater, The Junior League and Senior Centers. She was a well-loved tutor at McGilvra School for many years and volunteered for the Lighthouse for the Blind, Helpline House and Lee House. Her loving and generous nature will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Nan is survived by her four children, Mary, Hank, Katie and Sally, her daughter-in-law Janice and her sons-in-law Peter Kerr, Bob Strong and Alyx Fier; her grandchildren, Gena and Laura Kerr, Matthew, Allison and Pamela Ketcham, Will and Lucy Strong and Tessa and Spencer Fier, and her brothers Frank and Jim Kerr and sister Sharon Knowles. Her husband, Pete, passed away in 1996. The family wishes to thank her dedicated caregivers who supported her so lovingly through her final illness.
A celebration of her life will be held on Thursday March 17 at 2pm at Epiphany Church, 1805 38th Ave., Seattle, followed by a reception at the Seattle Tennis Club.
Memorial contributions may be made to Park Shore Scholarship Fund or The University of Washington English Department.
My condolences to the family. At this time of distress, God offers support, comfort and hope to all who turn to Him. Psalm 145:14