Nancy Ann Aldridge Mehler, age 89, of Boulder, Colorado, passed away peacefully at home on September 6, 2024.
She was born in Clovis, New Mexico on August 31, 1935, and grew up in Far well, Texas, a small town in the High Plains region of the state. Her father, John Aldridge, was an attorney, while her mother, Lillian (Orr) Aldridge, was an educator. Nancy attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri from 1951-53, then double majored in French and Spanish at the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 1957. She started her working career as a medical secretary, and, inspired by the pediatrician she worked for, forged her own journey to become a pediatrician herself. She went back to school for pre-med, then enrolled in the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in 1960. It was during her first year at Case Western that she met her husband and love of her life, Robert Edward Mehler (Bob), who was then in his second year.
They were married on June 17, 1961, in Columbia, Missouri, a pragmatic choice of location made to minimize the total amount of travel required of immediate family. With plenty of love but with little free time, Nancy and Bob's 'honeymoon' was a drive to Sandusky, Ohio, during a free afternoon later that summer.
The rest of the 1960s were a whirlwind for Nancy and Bob. Along with completing medical school, their internships, and residencies, and along with the births of their first two children, Bob served two years in the army, the second of which was in Vietnam.
During that year Nancy and the children returned to Texas. By mid-1969, though, they moved to beautiful Boulder, Colorado, four months before the birth of their third child.
Nancy practiced clinical pediatrics in the Denver Neighborhood Health Center system for a year and then did a fellowship in developmental pediatrics in Denver in 1972. She subsequently opened a private practice in Boulder.
Nancy practiced for many years, but upon retirement she decided to start learning accounting and tax law, in part to better manage the family farm in Texas. This interest ultimately led to the completion of her CPA license, followed by her admission to the University of Colorado Law School. She completed her JD degree and passed the Colorado Bar Exam in 1994.
The energy, curiosity, and enthusiasm that Nancy brought to bear in educational pursuits was also on display in the rest of her life's passions. She loved playing the piano, especially Chopin. She was even more enthusiastic about cooking, and any new recipe that came her way had to be tried at least once in her personally designed kitchen. Her intellectual interests varied widely, and she audited numerous classes and attended many lectures at the University of Colorado, Boulder; from Greek comedy to Roman architecture to English and American poetry, a topic she was particularly fond of. She often commented on how lucky the people of Boulder are to have such a valuable resource in their backyard. Her interest in the work of Jonathan Swift led to her co-authorship of a research paper that she presented at an academic conference.
While she spent 55 wonderful years in Boulder, she was always a daughter of West Texas. Her wonderful Texas twang was always on display (when in doubt, you emphasize the first syllable of many words), especially when talking with her beloved sister or her cousins. And, being from West Texas, where a tree did not grow unless it was watered, she had a great respect for thriving trees. Thus, despite her many achievements, it often seemed that she was most proud of the numerous trees that she planted and nurtured in her spacious backyard in North Boulder.
During her later years, after she and Bob moved to the Eldorado Springs area, their view of grazing cattle gave her immense pleasure and evoked many memories. When her children would call her in those years, one of her first updates was whether the cattle were in sight that day.
She also loved to travel. Too busy with work for many years, she and Bob made frequent trips to London, Bruges, and Palermo during the 2000s and 2010s, often reconnecting with friends they had made on previous trips.
She always enjoyed meeting people and did so eagerly and openly.
Coupled with her interest in language and poetry, she volunteered at Frasier Meadows, reading poetry to assisted living residents. She also volunteered her time to teach conversational English to numerous international women whose families had recently immigrated to Boulder. Several of them became fast friends. Even after a stroke cur tailed her social activity, she continued to take great pleasure in reading widely, often sending copies of her favorite poems by Emily Dickinson and Mar y Oliver to family and friends. Nancy accepted her limitations with characteristic spirit. She was a caring friend, and sometimes a mentor, to each of her kind and thoughtful caregivers from Windhorse Elder Care.
For all her varied interests, it was her family that she loved most of all. She was never one to brag about herself - she had no patience with pretense - but she had no hesitation in bragging about her family. While she never spoke about her own significant accomplishments, she always made sure to highlight and celebrate anything that her children or her grandchildren achieved.
Nancy is survived by her exceptional and loving husband of over sixty years, Dr. Robert E. Mehler. She was preceded in death by er adored older sister, Mary Belle A. Washington (Eugene), who passed away in 2002. She leaves her three children: Caroline M. Welch (Eric), Robert A. Mehler (Monica), John M. Townsend-Mehler (My Ellen), and six grandchildren: Kristen M. Welch, Sarah E. Welch, David R. Welch (Lauren), Nathan G. Welch, Margaret C. Mehler, and Grace A. Townsend-Mehler.
Funeral services will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro County, New Mexico.