Nancy Safford

Nancy Safford, 76, of Winterset, died Sunday, April 19, 2015 at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. A visitation will be held from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m., Thursday, April 23 at Ochiltree Funeral Service in Winterset, where family will be present to receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 24 at the New Bridge Church in Winterset, with burial to follow in the Winterset Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to Grace Baptist Church or Grace Christian Academy. Nancy Jane Quiring, the daughter of Peter and Annie (Ratzloff) Quiring, was born March 27, 1939 in Mt. Lake, MN. She graduated from high school in Warsaw, IN in 1956 and went on to attend college at Grace Bible Institute receiving a Bible Diploma. She also attended the University of Nebraska. Her marriage to John W. Safford took place on August 29, 1959 in Mt. Lake, MN and to this union four children were born. During her working career, Nancy worked at the Nebraska American Legion State Headquarters and for many years until 2000 she provided daycare out of her home. She and John moved their family to Winterset in the summer of 1968 and were active in the community for many years. She was a member of Grace Baptist Church where she was involved with many activities and groups throughout the years and she was also a member of Winterset Music Club. She will long be remembered for her many years of arranging and planning children’s musicals for Christmas and Easter as well as her puppet ministries which touched the hearts of many. Nancy loved to decorate and was always willing and eager to learn a new craft. She enjoyed flower gardening and was very proud of ‘her’ flowers. Nancy loved nature and enjoyed bird watching as well as camping where she could enjoy the beauty of nature and sit by the lake. All this said, she was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother who loved nothing more than spending time with her family. More than anything, she and John loved Jesus their Savior and their most treasured Bible verse was Proverbs 3:5-6. She is survived by her best friend, husband and sweetheart of 56 years, John Safford, Sr., of Winterset; her four children, Geoff (Deb) Safford of Indianola, Jodi (Gary) Wabshaw of Winterset, John Jr. (Becky) Safford of Des Moines and Jay (Joan) Safford of Wadena, MN; and 16 grandchildren, Geoffrey Jr., Hannah, Trenton, Naomi Safford, Lucas, Lacey, Colson, Eli, Judson Wabshaw, John Wesley III, Brandon, Jarod Safford, Ethan, Levi, Madaline and Titus Safford. She was preceded in death by her parents and her granddaughter, Gracie Wabshaw.