Nancy Engstrom

Nancy Della Ann Engstrom, 81 of Des Moines, Iowa passed away peacefully in the early morning on Monday December 18th at the Rehabilitation Center of Des Moines surrounded by her loving family.

Visitation will be held from 6-8 pm Wednesday Dec 27th at Hamilton’s near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Avenue, Des Moines. Funeral service will be held at 12 pm on Thursday Dec 28th at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery.

Nancy was born on November 18th, 1942 to Homer & Dorothy Adcock. She grew up in the Beaverdale neighborhood and attended North & Tech High Schools, graduating from Tech in 1960. She was a homemaker most of her life and enjoyed many activities. She loved taking photos & home movies of every birthday, sporting event, holiday and especially family vacations. It would be rare to see her without a camera or video camera in hand. These captured memories will be cherished and held in the family’s heart and will be shared with generations to come. Mom also loved to travel across the country and take family trips including many trips to California, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Las Vegas and New York City to name a few. Her favorite places though were Clearwater Beach and Okoboji/Spirt Lake in Northwest Iowa for family vacations in the summer. She loved to just float in the water and soak up the sun. Mom was also a true thrill seeker. She loved carnivals & amusement parks as a child and wanted to share those experiences with her own family. It made her so happy to see the joy & laughter these places brought to her kids & grandkids. She was also an avid shopper. If there was a sale or a bargain, you can rest assured she would find it! The center of her world though, was her family. They were her #1 priority and she loved them so very much. It was so important to her to make sure that each of her children and grandchildren were always ok and that their birthdays and Christmas’ were extra special, even in her final months. Christmas was her absolute favorite holiday and as her, sister-in-law Dona, perfectly said, “Christmas was so alive in her heart”. It just seems fitting, that right before the Christmas holiday, she leaves to go home and celebrate.

Left to cherish her memory is her brother Ron (Dona) Adcock of Des Moines, her daughters Cheri (Shawn) Sutton of Grimes, and Cindi (Scott) Culbertson of Des Moines: her sons Scott Engstrom of Des Moines and Justin (Valeree) Engstrom of West Des Moines. Her grandchildren Daniel, Brandon, Bailey, Brinley, Cierra, Jacob, Jessica and Cooper, great grandchildren Brantley and Aubrey as well as many friends she considered family.

She was proceeded in death by her parents Homer & Dorothy and son Steve Engstrom.

A special thank you to Suncrest Hospice for all the care they provided Mom in her final months.

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