Class: 1964
Major: Studio Art
A shining star among the class of ‘64’s gifted studio arts students, Nancy Anway graduated from Carleton magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and eventually headed to the nationally-known fine arts program at the University of Iowa school of art and art history. There, she studied with Mauricio Lasansky, founder of the university’s innovative printmaking workshop.
Nancy graduated from Iowa in 1967 with a Masters degree in Fine Arts, and accepted a teaching position at Interlochen Arts Academy near Traverse City, Michigan. On Sept. 29, 1967, as she was in the first days of her new job, the car she was driving from her rural residence to school collided with a pickup truck. Nancy was rushed to a nearby hospital with a severe skull fracture and multiple injuries. Nancy survived the crash, but lived the rest of her life with its consequences. She sustained severe brain damage that effectively eradicated her considerable creative abilities and diminished her social skills, and also led to chronic epilepsy. When she was able to leave the Michigan hospital, Nancy returned home to Cloquet, MN to recuperate. A friend who stayed with her for months following the accident helped in her rehabilitation. She was able to serve as maid of honor at her sister’s wedding in 1968. Nancy eventually moved to San Francisco, California, where she spent the rest of her life.
All thoughts of a career in the creative arts were gone. Instead, as a family minister later noted, Nancy used a different form of creativity and artistry to slowly rebuild her life, and to cope with her new limitations. She learned on her own, through trial and error, to do more menial tasks in office work, to conduct normal social relationships, and to be independent and self-supporting. The epilepsy and eroded social skills dramatically undercut her employment prospects. Her brother, Allen Anway, described her unusual bravery and determination: “The brain damage initially prevented her from interacting easily, and led her to say and do things that sometimes offended others. These conditions caused her to lose job after job, but she always managed to find a new one and to learn from every experience. She tried to carefully watch the facial expressions of others to make certain she wasn’t saying something wrong, to improve after every incident, and to build herself up in this fashion.”
Nancy coped by living a regimented life. She would wash clothes at a certain time on a certain day without fail, for example. My mother told me that due to Nancy’s fatigue, she would go to bed early each night. Nancy joined a Buddhist society both for religion and social interaction with accepting people. Her recreation was mostly reading. For most of the time she was able to live on her own and take care of herself. Even so, she periodically required hospitalization to control epileptic fits that occurred with alarming regularity. During one hospital stay following an epileptic attack, she fell and suffered yet another concussion. She died on May 1, 1985, at age 42. The Anway family has endowed a scholarship fund in Nancy Anway’s honor at Cloquet high school.
Comments
Nancy was a fellow art major. I think of all of us she had the most natural gift for drawing. I particularly remember the ease and grace of her drawings of the willow trees on the hill behind Boliou. And although I can't describe it, she had a special way of holding a pencil that seemed to fit with the quality of her line. To my mind, she could draw like a dream and had a gift as well for composing on the page. Of course I was a little bit envious.
Although I can't say I ever got to know her very well, she seemed always upbeat and positive and friendly. I remember that she laughed often. I don't know what her aspirations as an artist were. I don't think I ever heard her talk about going to New York. Perhaps she planned to teach. Hard to say. I think
it is possible she was the first of our class to die. Possibly just a year after graduation. In a car crash, as I understood and was shocked.
A shining star among the class of ‘64’s gifted studio arts students, Nancy Anway graduated from Carleton magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and eventually headed to the nationally-known fine arts program at the University of Iowa school of art and art history. There, she studied with Mauricio Lasansky, founder of the university’s innovative printmaking workshop. Nancy graduated from Iowa in 1967 with a Masters in Fine Arts degree, and accepted a teaching position at Interlochen Arts Academy near Traverse City, Michigan. On Sept. 29, 1967, as she was in the first days of her new job, the car she was driving from her rural residence to school collided with a pickup truck. Nancy was rushed to a nearby hospital with severe skull fracture and multiple injuries. Nancy survived the crash, but lived the rest of her life with its consequences. She sustained severe brain damage that effectively eradicated her considerable creative abilities and diminished her social skills, and also led to chronic epilepsy. When she was able to leave the Michigan hospital, Nancy returned home to Cloquet, MN to recuperate. She was able to able to serve as maid of honor at her sister’s wedding in 1968. Encouraged by a friend who stayed with her for months following the accident, helping in her rehabilitation, Nancy eventually moved to San Francisco, California, where she spent the rest of her life. All thought of a career in the creative arts were gone. Instead, as a family minister later noted, Nancy used a different form of creativity and artistry to slowly rebuild her life, and to cope with her new limitations. She learned on her own, through trial and error, to do more menial tasks in office work, to conduct normal social relationships, and to be independent and self-supporting. The epilepsy and eroded social skills dramatically undercut her employment prospects. Her brother, Allen Anway, described her unusual bravery and determination: “The brain damage initially prevented her from interacting easily, and led her to say and do things that sometimes offended others. These conditions caused her to lose job after job, but she always managed to find a new one and to learn from every experience. She tried to carefully watch the facial expressions of others to make certain she wasn’t saying something wrong, to improve after every incident, and to build herself up in this fashion. Nancy coped by living a regimented life. She would wash clothes at a certain time on a certain day without fail, for example. My mother told me that due to Nancy’s fatigue, she would go to bed early each night. Nancy joined a Buddhist society both for religion and social interaction with accepting people. Her recreation was mostly reading.” For most of the time she was able to live on her own and take care of herself. Even so, she periodically required hospitalization to control epileptic fits that occurred with alarming regularity. During one hospital stay following an epileptic attack, she fell and suffered yet another concussion. She died on May 1, 1985, at age 42. The Anway family has endowed a scholarship fund in Nancy Anway’s honor at Cloquet high school.