Nancy L. (Baker) Swanson, 84, of Ramsey, Minn., died Oct. 4, 2016. She grew up in St. Anthony Park and graduated from Murray High School in 1949. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in home economics education.
Working in the U of M Plant Pathology Lab, she met a handsome man named Dick Swanson who ended up being the love of her life. They spent their 62 years of marriage in the Anoka/Ramsey area. Nancy retired after 33 years of teaching for Anoka-Hennepin. Most of those years were at Jackson Junior High/Middle School. She was a quiet but popular teacher who had many students come back to visit her over the years.
Her family and friends were most important to her. She also loved to garden and play Bridge. The highlight of her life was her grandchildren. Even though her short-term memory was diminished in the end, she knew love when she saw it and never forgot social niceties and, more important, she never lost her sense of humor.
She is survived by her sister, Renee Kopecky Warnecke; children, Lynn (Dave) Blackstad, Richard (Helen), Karen (Lee) Nerison and Tim; seven grandchildren; two great granddaughters; and another on the way. She is also survived by family friend Richard.
She spent the last two weeks of her life at the Ark on the River in Anoka. The family expresses gratitude for the loving and respectful care she received there.
Her funeral was Oct. 8 at First Congregational Church of Anoka – UCC, with interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
