Longtime Guadalajara resident Nancy Urroz died on Christmas Eve at the age of 85, after being hospitalized with pneumonia for two weeks.
Just before that, she had been active and alert despite a few years of declining mobility. Nancy was known as an extremely intelligent, hard working, conscientious, sociable and enthusiastic person who didn’t hold a grudge and was devoted to the welfare of family and everyone she knew. She was a member of a bridge club, garden club, the Readers Book club, the Junior League and Weight Watchers. For over 30 years, she enjoyed regular socializing with the “Gringa” group (Americans married to Mexicans) and for more than 10 years she enjoyed a monthly poker group.
She was born Nancy Thompson Crary on October 16, 1928, in Palo Alto, California and raised in San Francisco, attending high school there at Miss Burke’s. After a six-month trip to Europe, she returned to San Francisco and soon met U.S. Army Sergeant Hector Urroz, a Mexican-American, who was working after World War II for the U.S. Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC). Nancy married him In April 1949 when she was 20.
Although Hector was American by birth, he wanted to live in Mexico, so after having their first child, also named Hector, in San Francisco, the couple came to live in Guadalajara in 1950.
Once Nancy got over the culture shock, she embraced Mexico as her home and, remarkably, learned Spanish almost to perfection without ever taking a lesson.
However, she kept up contact with the foreign community and was part of the American Society and U.S. Consulate social circles. The family later lived in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and in Mexico City starting in 1956. At one point, Nancy became manager of a Mexico City branch of Valores de Capital, an investment firm with mostly U.S. customers. She later obtained certification to become a licensed insurance agent. Up until her death she continued to service her insurance clients conscientiously.
The family finally settled back in Guadalajara in 1969. Here, she was an active member of the American Society, organizing trips and a health insurance group policy. Together with her friend Marcy Matthew, she organized a blood donor list mainly for service to the foreign community and extended to Mexican friends.
In her later years, cable television was a big part of her life and, thanks to that, she kept up with U.S. news and culture. She also liked Mexican news and government channels, which formed part of her education. Friends note that right up to the time of her death, she had a lively interest in the world at large, including science, sports and other areas. She was happy to have donated to the University of Colorado at Boulder, Archives Department, letters with historical value written by an uncle.
Above everything, Nancy’s family came first. Her husband Hector died approximately three decades before her. She is survived by her four children: Hector (Colorado), Richard, Patty and Catherine (Guadalajara); eight grandchildren and three step-grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren, four step-grandchildren and her daughters- and sons-in-law.
On Saturday, February 22, 2 p.m., a memorial service will be held at St. Mark’s Anglican Church (Aztecas and Chichimecas, Colonia Monraz, in Guadalajara, www.stmarksanglican.com) followed by internment of ashes in the Peace Garden.