Nancy Endsley

Nancy Dickinson Endsley, age 76, passed away on 8 February 2022 after a long series of illnesses.  She was born in Buffalo, New York on 24 May 1945, the daughter of Lee I. and Ruth (nee Van Dusen) Dickinson, both deceased.  She grew up in Hamburg, New York and in 1967 graduated from the State University of New York College at Geneseo with a degree in Education.  She taught in western New York schools before moving to Denver, Colorado to attend the University of Denver where she received her Master’s in Special Education in 1972.   She subsequently taught in Denver area schools and in Grand Junction, Colorado where she met her much loved future husband, James Endsley.  She left teaching and accompanied Jim, a mining engineer, to jobs in Utah to mine gold, Virginia to mine coal, and Indiana and Georgia to lay underground cable.  They eventually partnered together in a horizontal drilling business that took them to job sites throughout the southwestern United States.

Nancy, or Dixie as she was affectionately known, traveled the world with her mother, visiting a list of countries that included Russia, China, and New Zealand.  And like her mother, Nancy was an active sportswoman in her younger days.  A strong swimmer, she was invited to Olympic swimming tryouts.  She also skied, skydived, drove in motor cross competitions, participated in skeet shooting, and was an accomplished water skier behind her dad’s cherished motor boat, the Dicksie Lee.  In later years she became a dedicated chronicler of her family’s stories and genealogy, as well as an avid crafter.  Above all, she loved sitting on her porch in Mack, Colorado, taking-in the mountains and the beauty surrounding her.  She loved Colorado.

Her calling was reaching out to young and old who needed help or a friend.  This generosity of spirit was repaid by a young friend who lovingly called her Grandma Dixie and good folks like Dawn Edwards and Tina Turner.  She is survived by her brother David (Tatyana) Dickinson of Vernon, Connecticut; sister Diane “Muffy” (Wesley) Walker of Pickerington, Ohio; and four nieces and nephews and their eight children.  The memory of Dixie’s radiant smile and joy-filled eyes will always be lovingly remembered by those whose lives she touched.

Consider thanking a public servant, health care worker, teacher, neighbor, or friend for helping you on your way in Dixie’s honor.

No services will be held.