Nancy Jo Hawk

Nancy was born on March 13, 1924, in Billings, Montana, the daughter of Harry and Montana Skaggs. Although she was born during the Great Depression into a family with little money, she had happy memories of her upbringing — and, in the end, of her entire life.

“I had a very good childhood,” she once said. “We always had food, and my mother was a very good cook.”

The oldest of three siblings, Nancy helped to raise her brother, Bill, and sister, Carol. Beginning at age 14, she worked at a variety of summer and after-hour jobs to supplement the family income. In high school, she was a drum majorette and strong student, graduating with a 3.8 GPA and a lifelong knack for perfect cursive.

During Nancy’s senior year of high school, her family relocated to Port Angeles, Washington. World War II had just begun, and she took a job as chief clerk of the local draft board. During a business trip to San Francisco, she met Frank Hawk, a Navy pilot who had also grown up in Billings. The two were married on August 17, 1945—three days after the war ended.

The newlyweds initially moved to Berkeley, California, where Nancy worked as a secretary for the Federal Housing Administration. She put her career on hold with the births of Lenore, in 1947, Patricia, in 1950, and Steve, in 1955. After Frank’s military assignments stationed the family in the South and Midwest, they settled in the Serra Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, where a fourth child, Tony, was born in 1968.

A passionate reader and lifelong student, Nancy ultimately earned two masters degrees (in education and business) while simultaneously excelling at secretarial jobs, first at La Jolla Elementary and later at Kearny High School. She received a PhD in education from Northern Arizona University in 1992, at the age of 68, with a dissertation on vocational education, and would go on to teach at Mira Costa, San Diego, and Southwestern community colleges for nearly a decade.

Throughout her life, Nancy loved to dance, travel and swim. She

was an avid bodysurfer into her 70s, and could often be seen

wading into San Diego’s summer surf in her one-piece swimsuit

and rubber swim cap. She was also an active volunteer with the

Assistance League of North Coast.

Although she beamed when recounting her educational

accomplishments, Nancy repeatedly said that her proudest

achievement and happiest memories came from raising her

children and serving as surrogate mother to a wide and diverse

circle of friends. She will be remembered as a relentlessly upbeat

and generous matriarch who laughed hard and often. Everyone

who had the good fortune to know her already misses her deeply.

She once wrote, “When all is said and done – who could have had

a better roller-coaster ride? I have always felt I was born under a

lucky star and have loved every minute of the many blessings

bestowed in my direction.”

Nancy’s husband Frank died in 1995, a few months shy of their

50th wedding anniversary. She is survived by Lenore, Patricia,

Steve and Tony, foster son Jim Carter, 11 grandchildren (Dave,

Greg, John, Hagen, Emily, Wilson, Cameron, Riley, Spencer,

Keegan and Kady) and 4 great-grandchildren (Madeleine, Hazel,

Felicity and Araminta).

Contributions may be directed to Hilarity for Charity

(hilarityforcharity.org) or the Alzheimer’s Foundation (alz.org).

Arrangements are with El Camino Memorial Encinitas.