Nancy Rayworth
May 28, 1941 – June 19, 2024
Nancy Ruth Newcomb was born to Drew and Glenna Newcomb of West Boylston, MA where she was raised along with her younger sister, Norma “Elaine”. Nancy met Dean Dowden Rayworth during childhood and they became high school sweethearts. In 1962 when Dean returned from serving in the Navy, they married. After getting married, Nancy and Dean packed up their belongings and drove cross country in their Chevrolet Corvair to start a life in Washington.
Nancy and Dean raised two daughters, Wendy and Tammy in Bellevue, WA, where they created a beautiful life together.Nancy worked over 20 years in Bellevue as a preschool teacher. Throughout their life together, Nancy and Dean enjoyed attending car shows with their friends across the Pacific Northwest. Nancy and Dean loved the sun and traveled to destinations with warm, sandy beaches, such as Hawaii and Florida. Nancy had fun dancing to live music, spending time in her garden admiring flowers and birds, attending the Issaquah Theatre, and socializing at Crossroads Mall on Friday and Saturday evenings. Nancy was a proud member of Altrusa International and enjoyed volunteering with her friends serving warm meals to families and women staying in local shelters and providing birthday parties for children in low-income communities.
Nancy was extremely proud of her children and grandchildren who loved her dearly and enjoyed spending time with her. She adored spending time with her eldest daughter Wendy, son-in-law Andy, and their daughters Chelsea (partner Chris) and Nicole (fiancé Andrew), and her youngest daughter Tammy and her fiancé Mike. Her family has many happy memories of holiday traditions and visits to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival with their mom/grandma.
Nancy is survived by her sister, Norma “Elaine” Anderson and her husband Dick Anderson, sister-in-law Carol Rayworth, andcountless nieces, nephews, and close friends who will miss her presence.
Nancy’s family invites you to join them in celebrating Nancy’s life on Tuesday, July 23, 1-5pm at Robinswood House (2430 148th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98007).
In lieu of flowers, her family asks donations to be made in honor of her memory to one of the following organizations that she supported:
5 Responses to “Nancy Rayworth”
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Knowing that I can’t just pick up the phone and call my sister is very difficult . We had a close sister relationship growing up in MA so when she moved to the West Coast I missed her terribly. I have comfort now, knowing that she is again with Dean, the love of her life. ❤️
I cherished my friendship with Nancy. I met her through Altrusa about 15 years ago. We became instant friends. She lived lose and I often picked her up for events. We traveled to Altrusa conference and were roommates as well as to the Caribbean. We had many special shopping trips and was so fun watching her pick out shoes with heels so she could be taller. She loved shoes. So many memories of shared fun times and I will all ways treasure these in my heart. I was so blessed to know her.
Aunt Nancy, I loved you and Uncle Dean. I loved your east Coast visits. I really enjoyed sending and receiving cards from you. You and Uncle Dean enjoy those sunsets, as I do. Peace and Love, Debbie
From Marc: My earliest memories were of my grandparents and mother frequently talking about our Seattle family and seeing high school pictures of my cousins while we were 3,000 miles away. I was too young to recall their first trip back east to see us all in MA, but by the second trip, my brother and I were showered by Star Wars gifts (it was the late 70’s after all!). I do remember thinking, “hey, Aunt Nancy acts a lot like Grandpa!” I’m amazed in that pre-internet era that Aunt Nancy and my mother and their families managed to stay so connected despite the distance and the years between seeing each other.
We were lucky in later years to have many annual visits from Uncle Dean and Aunt Nancy in Florida when our family’s seasonal home base starting shifting southeast a bit. My wife and I both miss those visits, but we are happy and thankful we were able to visit Aunt Nancy in 2022 in Bellevue when we made our overdue trip west.
We thinking of my Mom, Wendy, Tam, Chelsea, Nicole (and extended families) and all of those who loved and knew Aunt Nancy. She will certainly be missed.
I can’t remember not knowing my Auntie Nancy…I’ve thought about her off and on all day today. For the most part it’s made me smile, as I’ve always had the best and funniest of memories of her and my Uncle Dean. Nancy was a lot like my Grandpa Drew, which in turn meant she was a lot like me. This meant she overflowed with kindness and laughter and was up for any adventure….but it also meant she could talk your ear off and tell you exactly what she thinking. I appreciated her honesty and her conversations with me, especially the older I got. She and Dean spent much time in Sarasota which gave me the opportunity for me and our kids to spend time with them nearly every year. Before that it was simply a few trips that they’d all come out to MA with my cousins Tam and Wendy when we were young….or Wendy’s wedding in WA…and even then, all of us clicked like a family that you’d think saw each other every day. My heart is happy with the idea of Dean & Nancy dancing together again, or riding a hot rod, or maybe even both of them back on a Harley again. She was the best, the good in this world we all seek, and the humor I hope I always have that mirrors hers. Rest easy Nancy, you’ll be missed by the Andersons in Texas. Thanks for all the memories. I’m sure glad you got to meet Cindy and that we got to visit a few years back in WA. We love you. My thoughts are with our entire Seattle family. -Dean, Cindy, Lindsay, and Lauren