Nancy Demetra Slayton was born in Portland on May 9, 1947, to Edward Slayton and Demetra Baker Slayton. Nancy grew up an only child and attended public schools in Portland. Nancy graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1965. She went to college at Portland State University, and she graduated from there in 1969 with a degree in Elementary Education. After graduating from college, Nancy taught elementary school in Garden Grove, California, and in Portland.
While at Portland State, Nancy met John Wittmayer in a Social Dance class. Nancy and John dated on and off throughout college, and they were married on July 5, 1970.
John and Nancy briefly lived in Washington, D.C., where their only child, Bryn, was born in 1974. Shortly after Bryn’s birth, the family moved back to Portland, where Nancy resided for the rest of her life.
Throughout her life, Nancy had a strong faith, regularly attending Montavilla United Methodist Church and participating in a weekly Bible study with the same group of friends for over 30 years.
Nancy loved going to the beach, and she enjoyed traveling. When Bryn was growing up, the family took every chance they could get to explore on long weekends and on Summer breaks. As they aged, Nancy and John loved traveling on their own and with friends.
In more recent years, Nancy doted on her granddaughters with cards and gifts. As her granddaughters got older, she always made efforts to get them a gift for every year old they were on their birthdays. She enjoyed playing games, playing with dolls, and watching movies with her granddaughters. And she made it to as many of their recitals, competitions, and performances as she could. Nancy was absolutely devoted to her family.
Nancy was able to live out the final years of her life at home, with John, thanks to some extraordinary caregivers–one of whom cared for Nancy for over 11 years–and thanks to Adventist and Providence Hospice.
Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Demetra Slayton. She is survived by her husband, John, her daughter, Bryn, her son-in-law, Paul Smith, and her granddaughters, Sophia and Samantha Smith.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be made in Nancy’s memory to the Scott Wittmayer Scholarship Fund at the Montavilla United Methodist Church.
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