Nancy Hunsaker

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Funeral service for Nancy Hunsaker will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at First United Methodist Church in Emmetsburg. The Rev. Lana Williams will officiate. Visitation will be 1-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at First United Methodist Church in Emmetsburg. Interment will be at Rush Lake Cemetery in Curlew.
Nancy was born in Atlanta, Georgia on Feb. 25, 1935, the first daughter and fifth child of Pansy (Garrett) and John Quincy Adams. She grew up with beautiful blond curls, captivating brown eyes, and a love for visiting her neighbors. She played the viola in school and babysat/ironed clothes for her older brother’s family.
While walking down the street with her best friend one day shortly after graduating from high school, she met Bob Hunsaker, a soldier with some free time in Atlanta. He started a conversation and the rest was history. She and Bob wrote letters back and forth while he served time in the Orient during the Korean War. When his time was up, they were married in her childhood home on March 4, 1952 and traveled to his home town of Mason City to start their life together.
In Mason City, Nancy worked for Montgomery Ward and Sears in Mason City as a bookkeeper. She and Bob had two daughters, Ruth and Offie (Iris Ophelia). They lived in a house by the river that Bob built himself, near a large A-frame that he built as well. In 1966, they moved to Emmetsburg and the girls grew up there.
She worked at the Gambles Store in Accounts Receivable, then Upper Des Moines Opportunity, ultimately as a payroll clerk. She lost Bob in 1970 and juggled work, her girls, gardening, catering and sewing, among other things. She had a garden the size of half a city block, sold delicious vegetables, made her own clothes, and cooked delicious meals for family gatherings and many other events. Her generosity was endless and her willingness to help was never ending.
Nancy retired from Upper Des Moines after 30+ years of service. After that, she worked part-time at the Palo Alto County Court House. She spent some of her favorite times with her grandchildren, doing crafts and watching TV. She continued to garden, starting thousands of plants from seed over the years and teaching others what she had learned. She created works of art with needle and thread, as well as yarn and needle. She also loved spending time with her great-grandchildren and watching them grow.
Nancy passed away peacefully at the age of 87 at the Palo Alto County Hospital on Jan. 29, 2023. She is survived by her two daughters, Ruth (Joe) Molloy of Alexandria, MN and Offie (Mark) Walvatne of Graettinger, five grandchildren, Paul (Lauren) Molloy, Robert (Michelle Knowles) Kollasch, Todd (Lyndsi) Molloy, Ryan (Kayla) Kollasch, and Natalie (Brenton) Hoff and twelve great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her six siblings, her husband, Robert Hunsaker, her grandchildren Robert, Joseph, and Sally Molloy, and her great-grandchildren Isaac and Noah Kollasch.
Arrangements were made by Martin-Mattice Funeral Home.
Condolences can be left at
www.martinmattice
funeralhome.com