Nancy Stanley Kerley

Nancy Stanley Kerley, 72, of La Grande, Oregon died November 16, 2009 at the Grande Ronde Hospital after a courageous and prolonged battle with leukemia. A Service of Burial will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

Nancy was born May 2, 1937 to Ralph Dean and Luella Maude Harmon Stanley in Long Beach, California. Nancy spent her early years on the family farm in the Trinity Alps of northern California. She moved with her family to Damascus, Oregon in 1942 to be with her father who took a job in a shipyard in Portland, Oregon. After the war the family moved to Hoskins, Oregon where her father worked for a railroad company and farmed. She attended second through eighth grade at a small one-room school near Hoskins called Alter Grove.

Nancy's family moved to Corvallis where she graduated from Corvallis High School in 1954. While in high school she worked for a private florist, in the kitchen of one of OSU's largest dormitories and then for the University's library. After high school she worked for the Farm Crops Department as a secretary. She met her future husband, David Kerley, who was attending the University. They were married in September of 1955. While David continued his education Nancy continued to work for the Farm Crops Department and then in 1961 she went to work for Type Ink where she typed manuscripts and dissertations for graduate students.

In 1964 she moved to La Grande to be with her husband who was employed at Eastern Oregon College as a Professor. After her move to La Grande she took a five-year break from work to raise her four children. In 1969 she took a job with Eastern Oregon Community Development Council, where she worked as a secretary and then as an executive officer. In 1982 she moved to a job with Training and Employment Consortium (TEC) where she worked until she retired in 2000, the last 15 years at TEC she was the Executive Director of a six county program.

Nancy enjoyed her family and not only raised her own children but also helped raise two of her grandchildren, Leslie and Kimberly Kerley of La Grande. Nancy enjoyed people and was much loved and respected by her family, friends and co-workers. She enjoyed family dinners and gatherings. She also enjoyed reading, cooking and camping. She was a member of a birthday club and a book club. She was very active in St. Peter's Episcopal Church where she was on the Alter Guild, St. Ann's, a member of a prayer chain and served as a member of the vestry. She made her Cursillo.

She is survived by her husband, David Kerley of La Grande; daughters, Lucinda Kerley of La Grande and Dr. Linda Kerley-Borisenko of Lazo, Russia; son, Michael Kerley of La Grande; sisters, Ina Fraser and Martha Griffiths, both of Corvallis; three grandchildren; one great grandchild and other relatives and friends. Her son, Thomas Kerly, preceded her in death.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Thomas Kerley Memorial Scholarship at Eastern Oregon University or to St. Peter's Episcopal Church for the Honan Trust Fund in care of Daniels~Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center, 1502 7th Street in La Grande.

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