Nancy Worthington died Monday, June 26, 2023, at the University of Iowa Hospital after a brief but valiant battle with cancer.
She was born Sept. 5, 1950, the daughter of Roger Vernon Lawhorn and Virginia Lee (Campbell) Lawhorn of Monmouth, Illinois. Nancy was a 1968 graduate of Yorkville High School in Yorkville, Illinois, where she excelled academically and socially and was especially proud of her roles as a member of the Pep Squad and the ‘Gay 90’s – a costumed singing and performing group. She attended Western Illinois University and the Lutheran Hospital in Moline, Ill., Nursing School where she completed the Registered Nurse (RN) program in 1979. After serving as a nurse and a research assistant at Franciscan Hospital in Rock Island, Ill., she joined the Moline Public School District (Moline, Illinois) where she was a school nurse at several schools, including Garfield Elementary and John Deere Jr. High: schools her daughter attended. In 1991, Nancy achieved her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She then proudly served several Quad City area hospitals as a skilled psychiatric nurse and team leader before ending her career at the University of Iowa Hospitals, where she had dedicated 20 years to their psychiatric program.
She married Sam Means in 1973 and gave birth to her daughter, Nichole, in 1975, on her 25th birthday. Nancy loved baking and was an accomplished and decorated competitor at both county and state fairs in Illinois and Iowa. She was especially proud of her bread baking and her outstanding skills landed her as a featured contributor in a variety of cookbooks as well as several television appearances.
In 2009, Nancy reconnected with her high school sweetheart, David Worthington, and after more than 40 years apart the two married. Nancy and David lived out their days in Kalona, Iowa where they doted on their dogs, Zeus and Thor, and made plans for traveling annually to the Kansas City Speedway where Nancy, an avid NASCAR enthusiast, could watch her favorite race car driver, Tony Stewart.
Nancy adored spending time with her parents and other family members at their Monmouth farm. Her magnetic personality drew both friends and colleagues to her and she could always be counted on to bring her cheery, energetic disposition and a spectacular baked good to any occasion.
Nancy never met a stranger and loved helping others. Even after passing, she served by choosing to be an organ donor, donating her eyes to the Iowa Lions Eye Bank.
In death, she joins her husband: David; her brother-in-law: Duane Fear; and parents: Roger and Virginia.
She is survived by her sister: Cheryl Fear of Bellingham, Wash.; brother: Terry Lawhorn of Macomb, Ill.; two nieces and three nephews; daughter: Nichole Myles of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina; and three grandchildren: Avery Myles-Gott, Carly Gott, and Brody Myles, whom she adored.
While an end-of-life celebration will be held at a later date, memorials can be made now in her name to Mental Health America (MHA) or Hero’s Haven Animal Rescue in Manchester, Iowa. A website in memory of Nancy, where friends, family, and colleagues can share stories of Nancy is available here: https://mylestogo.wixsite.com/nancyworthington/memories.
