Nancy Jane Steiger

PALM CITY, Fla. — Nancy Jane (Kanitz) Steiger, 78, passed away at her winter home in Palm City, Florida, as a result of liver cancer and kidney failure. Born in Big Rapids in 1936, she moved with her parents to Traverse City in 1942 when her father was hired as the high school head football coach. Upon graduating from Traverse City Central High School she attended the University of Michigan and majored in elementary education. Following graduation from the university she married her high school sweetheart, and they both taught and raised their family in Belleville. Following their retirement, they returned to Traverse City and lived in their home on the Boardman River which they lovingly named Basswood Bend. She enjoyed helping others. Upon her retirement she followed in her mother’s footsteps and was a volunteer at Munson hospital. She and her husband also were volunteers with the Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program. She was also active on the Internet and particularly enjoyed online gaming, competing with and partnering with friends around the world. She started and maintained her own weblog, sharing ideas with family and friends when the idea of blogging was first germinated. She was a pioneer blogger who has maintained her blog “News from Basswood Bend” for 15 years. She also kept in touch with family, friends and former students on Facebook. Nancy was a loyal Wolverine who attended games in the “Big House” from the ‘40s through the first decade of this century until declining health forced her to give up her tickets. She was very proud of the fact that, in addition to herself and her husband, her grandfather, her parents and all three of her children graduated from the U of M. She loved to travel with friends and family. In her lifetime she visited every state on numerous occasions and a dozen foreign countries. She particularly enjoyed the activity of Geocaching, which took her to many beautiful and unusual sites as she traveled. She was preceded in death by her parents, Tharel (Dutch) Kanitz and Marian (Geib) Kanitz. She is survived by her husband, Richard Blaine Steiger, of Traverse City and Palm City, Florida; her brother, James Kanitz, of Saginaw; her son, Thomas Dickson Steiger, of San Diego, California; her daughter, Jana Louise Steiger, of Washington, D.C.; her daughter, Laura Jane Steiger; her son-in-law, George (Chip) Gillespie; and grandson, Dylan Patrick Gillespie, of Palm City, Florida. The memorial service will be held on Friday, July 31, 2015 at 3:00 pm at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. It is requested that contributions in Nancy’s name be made to the Munson Healthcare Regional Foundation in Traverse City.

Nancy Jane Steiger

March 22, 1936 - January 10, 2015