Nancy Rogers Renshaw passed away on Jan. 8, 2022 in the house in which she was raised, surrounded by family and close friends. It was her home for 83 years.
She was born at St. Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara on Oct. 8, 1935 to Clarence Rogers and Bessie Gesell Rogers. She attended Roosevelt Elementary, La Cumbre Jr. High, and was a member of the class of 1953 at Santa Barbara High. She ultimately graduated from the Montecito School for Girls but was a devout SBHS Don through and through.
She graduated from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, with a major in music, and received her elementary teaching credential at the University of Missouri. She met the love of her life David Renshaw while attending a dance at Stephens (which is hilarious because our dad did not like to dance!)
They were married at All Saints-by-the-Sea-Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara on June 12, 1957.
Besides her devotion and love for her family, Nancy enjoyed music, cooking and entertaining. She was a big-time Dodgers baseball fan since the 1940s and could spout out statistics about them until the very end. She was extremely happy when they won the World Series in 2020!
Mom was always volunteering for something. She was our Brownie and Girl Scout leader and PTA president at Roosevelt and SBHS. She got involved with the Youth Symphony when we did, but continued to volunteer for many years afterwards.
She volunteered with the Music Van, helped coordinate the Pops and Pastry and Tiny Tots concerts, and was instrumental in helping to create the Jr. Ensemble, Jr. Orchestra and After School Strings Program.
Mom’s legacy will certainly be her devotion to the youth of Santa Barbara as she made sure anyone who wanted to learn how to play an instrument got the chance. She rarely missed a Santa Barbara Symphony concert and enjoyed attending master classes at the Music Academy of the West.
She also loved attending her grandchildren’s theatrical performances, even though she had to travel to Canada to do so. She was a member of the local PEO chapter, which provides educational scholarships to women.
Nancy is predeceased by David, her husband of 56 years. She is survived by her daughters Susan Dawson of Santa Barbara and Katharine McKee (Carman) of British Columbia. Susan’s husband Jack, sadly, passed away five days after Nancy.
Nancy is also survived by her grandchildren Peter Dawson, Connor McKee (Alexandra) and Ceanna McKee; and by her beloved sister Shirley Trimble, and countless nieces and nephews.
A memorial will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday Feb. 22 at First United Methodist Church 305 E. Anapamu St.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Santa Barbara Symphony Education Program or Direct Relief in Santa Barbara.