Nancy Belle Shank Flanagan

Nancy Flanagan died at the age of 91 on Friday, the Friday, August 9, 2013, after an extended stay in Lakeview Christian Home. Born on a ranch in Northwestern Colorado, one of eight children of Henry Austin Shank and Margaret Virginia Barnes, she attended schools in Lily Park, Grand Junction, and Canyon City before matriculating at the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1940. She graduated with the first class to receive Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees from CU Denver in 1944. She married Earl Banks Flanagan, Jr., M.D. in March of 1945. They moved to Carlsbad in 1953. Mrs. Flanagan had careers as a hospital nurse during the polio epidemic in the 1950s, a wife until her husband died in 1978, and finally as a nurse to the community in her later years. In 1981, she and the Rev. James Estes were the key founders of the all-volunteer Carlsbad Hospice. Nancy was often seen visiting the homes of dying patients and reaching out a hand of solace to bereaved family members. She was happy to accept help from, and give support to volunteers and to host meetings in her home. She opened her home to several people in their twilight years, including Connie Chapman, beloved teacher of History to generations of Carlsbad High School students. She was very active in the First Presbyterian Church of Carlsbad until hip fractures and other health problems curtailed her mobility and she was relocated to the nursing home. Also a mother, Mrs. Flanagan is survived by her only son, Michael, who lives with his wife Valerie in Albuquerque. Nancy has one remaining sister, Katharine Elaine Rinker, of Maybell, Colorado. Other survivors include several cousins from her generation, numerous nieces and nephews, and thousands of friends. Visitation will be 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at Denton-Wood Funeral Home. A Funeral service is scheduled for 11:00 AM, Thursday, August 15, 2013 at First Presbyterian church. Interment will be at 10:00 AM, Thursday, August 15, 2013 in Sunset Gardens Memorial Park, Carlsbad, New Mexico. Denton-Wood Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Condolences may be expressed at dentonwood.com.