Obituaries
Nancy Ellen Way Lienke was born on January 19, 1922, and died peacefully
on April 30, 2008, at the end of a complex and grace-filled decline
with probable Lewy Body Disease.
Nancy loved to sing and especially to laugh, and she enjoyed
life's simple and irreplaceable pleasures. A passion for books,
in particular children's books, lived in her and was shared with
others throughout her life. She also had a deep appreciation
for visual art and artists. The walls and shelves of the Lienke
family home were always filled with significant pieces, including
her own prize-winning collages. Nancy's ability to invoke an
abiding sense of connectedness in the hearts of others will long
be remembered and cherished. A lifelong champion of those marginalized,
oppressed, or ostracized for social difference, she embraced
a moral philosophy of compassion that respects fundamental similarity
and love at the heart of our collective humanity.
Her bond of sixty-three years with husband Roger I. Lienke produced
a family that gave her solace and her deepest joy. Yet it was
on the Grand Portage Ojibwe Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota
where she found her spirit home. She gradually moved from her
research role of participant/observer as a cultural anthropologist
to being accepted as a member of the Grand Portage community.
Nancy considered that journey of soul her highest honor and achievement.
Nancy's background in nursing and then in cultural anthropology
helped her work with Roger in writing the theory of family medicine
and in developing the teaching methods for a family practice
residency program at the University of Oklahoma. That collaboration
prompted their family's move from Minneapolis to Oklahoma City
in 1966.
In addition to family members, Nancy is survived by many friends
with whom she remained closely connected by faithful correspondence.
Her surviving family-husband Roger, daughter Jan Boyer (Anthony),
sons Tupper (Nahid), Roger (Kathleen), Thomas (Kathy), and her
grandchildren, Blake, Genevieve, Zachary, Chris, Jack, Monica,
and Julia-all wish her joy, blessings, peace, and love on her
departure from this life. She will always be with us. A memorial
service will be held in July in Grand Portage. Contact the family
for information. Memorial donations may be made to the Grand
Portage Indian Reservation Tribal Museum (Grand Portage, MN 55605)
or to Mercy at Home Hospice (4401 W. Memorial Road, Suite 143,
Oklahoma City, OK 73134).
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