Nancy Ekberg Obituary

I met Nancy in 1979. My friend Linda Railey and I were starting a video production company that made patient education programs for children in the hospital. The idea was to use puppets to reassure children about having their tonsils removed, living with a sick sibling, or the arrival of a new baby. We had the working title of KID'S CORNER and envisioned our company as a cross between Mr. Rodgers and Sesame Street. But how could we make children's educational videos without music? We needed a third partner, a musician, and preferably a woman. A friend suggested a preschool teacher at Ruth Washburn, Nancy Ekberg.

Nancy liked to tell the story of how nervous she was when we first met. She wanted the job and worried that we wouldn't like her.

Like her? We loved her and hired her on the spot. The three of us became partners, I wrote the shows, Linda handled the business, and Nancy added the music.

 From singing blue pills who fell out of the bottle harmonizing to "We're not Candy' to a baby kangaroo who hopped in his mother's pouch to remind kids to buckle their seatbelts, 
Nancy added the music.
Throughout the past forty years, I've watched Nancy as a force in our community, teaching students from pre-schoolers to college, producing the well-attended and much-loved concerts at Packard Hall, and her performances with the early recorder group, Amuse. Nancy added the music.

In early 2022, she and I had one last collaboration before Nancy's diagnosis. We talked about the clothes that hung in the closet and were never worn, and Nancy immediately dove into a free-wheeling conversation about how they must feel all stuffed together and could have a new life at some thrift shop. 

I said, "That's a great idea for an animated film." The following day, Nancy called and said she couldn't get the idea out of her mind. At the end of our phone conversation, we had a new creation, THE UNFULFILLED CLOSET, a one-minute animated film that has now been screened in four environmental film festivals, like old times. I wrote the words, and Nancy added the music. 

 I will miss so much about Nancy, our walks to and from coffee, and our long talks about family, politics, and spirituality. I will miss Nancy's incredible sense of humor and whacky impressions, the kindness she showed to everyone, and her loyal friendship, But most of all, I will miss the music she added to my life and all the lives she touched.

Mrs. Ekberg was my piano teacher from about ages 8 to 13 in the 1980s. I have fond memories of coming to their cozy home, dogs greeting us at the door and playing on her upright grand. My mom would drink herbal tea from the tea kettle on the wood burning stove in the next room. She had a different style of teaching with the note names and chords written on sheets of paper with hand drawn pictures. When I passed a piece I earned a scented marker star at the top. I learned folk tunes and chords. She was a beautiful person. Music has become a staple in my life. I played the flute in college and continue to sing and play the flute for my own enjoyment and I cherish concerts. Nancy started this love in my life as a young girl. I'm truly sorry to hear of her passing.