Nancy Hartley

Nancy Hartley, 89, of Glenwood, IA, passed away at her home on Friday, March 6, 2026.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at the Loess Hills Funeral Home in Glenwood. Burial will be in the Malvern Cemetery.
Visitation at the funeral home will be held one hour prior to the service with family greeting friends at 10:00 a.m. Loess Hills Funeral Home in Glenwood is caring for Nancy and her family.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, memorials are to Special Olympics Iowa

OBITUARY
Nancy Lou Hartley of Glenwood, Iowa found eternal peace on March 6, 2026. She was 89. Nancy was born Sept. 3, 1936 in North Tonawanda, New York to Ruth E. (Daugherty) and Luther H. Clough. The youngest of four siblings, Nancy was a kind and resourceful woman who was full of love and enjoyed a good chuckle, especially at her family’s expense.

At age 5, the family moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan to live with her ailing grandmother. She graduated from Adelphian Seventh Day Adventist Academy in Holly, Michigan, and moved to Washington, D.C. soon after to live with her sister. She was employed in a publishing house in D.C. when she met her future husband.

Nancy married Darrel Eugene Hartley on July 25, 1955 in Wheaton, Maryland. They made their home in Glenwood, Iowa where they raised 10 children. A quiet woman (until her patience ran out), she parlayed her skills cooking for such a large family into a career, working 25 years in food service at Glenwood Resource Center. She had a deep appreciation for music, and loved listening to her children and grandchildren sing and play their instruments.

Nancy believed in toughness and the power of nature. When one of her children came crying, she would tell them the injury was a long way from their heart, so go back outside. She showed her love by baking cookies for family and friends and lecturing you on the proper way to dice an onion. Nancy enjoyed camping, a made bed with properly folded corners, sewing tee shirt quilts, working on puzzles and word searches, and twirling her hair on her finger during those rare quiet moments.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, brother Kenneth Winter, sisters Arlene Miller and Eva Mae Oliver, daughter Debbie Davis, grandson Bryan Hartley, granddaughters Rochelle Hartley and Morgan Schroeder, and great-granddaughter Ava Hartley.

She is survived by her children Dana (Diana) Hartley, David (Susan) Hartley, Darlene (Tim) Brown, Dannee (Jason) Schroeder and Doug Hartley, all of Glenwood; Daryl (Sandy) Hartley of Lincoln, Neb.; Duane Hartley of Dallas, Texas; Dennis (Roxanne) Hartley of Bellevue, Neb.; Diane (Chuck) Gray of Topeka, Kan., son-in-law Jeff Davis of Morgan, Minn.; 25 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Known as mom by more than her kids, Nancy has left a void that can’t be filled.