Nancy Jane Carleton Walton

Nancy Jane Carleton Walton passed away on December 26, 2024, after a brief illness and only four months after the passing of Ted, her loving husband of 58 years. She lived in Grovetown, GA, formerly Oxford, MI.

Nancy was born February 17, 1942, in Shelby, Ohio, to Wayne Merritt Carleton and Helen Marvel Condit Carleton. As a young child Nancy enjoyed playing house, school, and store with her friends. Her favorite indoor activity was sending messages on strings from floor to floor of the house in the clothes chute. Nancy had fond memories of her older brother Bob taking her to the pool and teaching her to swim at a young age. Bob also taught her to ice skate on the pond across from their house. Growing up, Nancy took piano lessons and loved to sing in the church choir. Her love for being involved and part of an organization started early in life as she held the office of secretary and chairman of her Girl Scout Troop #2.

In her teen years, Nancy and her friend Mary Margaret wrote a column for the Shelby Daily Globe called Whippet Tales, which turned into editing for the high school yearbook and newspaper. After graduating from Shelby High School in 1960 she went on to study at Hillsdale College. Nancy received a tuition Leadership Scholarship to attend Hilsdale, which sealed the deal; along with the fact that no one from Shelby was going there.

Her freshman year, Nancy joined Pi Beta Phi sorority and held the office of president during her junior and senior years. You could usually find Nancy and friends at the campus Hut, hanging out and playing bridge for hours. She was the head student mentor, editor in chief for the Hillsdale Collegian newspaper, on the Leadership Workshop’s steering committee, president of Lamplighters Women’s Honor Society, and was listed in the Who’s Who among students in American Colleges and Universities 1964. 

Nancy met Ted at Hillsdale her freshman year (Ted’s junior year), and they dated a few times while at Hillsdale, but after Ted stood her up, Nancy thought she was done with this guy. In May 1964, Nancy graduated from Hillsdale with her bachelor’s degree in Math and Education. After graduation Nancy took a teaching job at Rich Central High School in Park Forest, Illinois. Friends of Ted and Nancy encouraged them to date again while both were living in Chicago and they married in Shelby, Ohio, on August 6, 1966. Once married, Ted and Nancy moved to Royal Oak, Michigan, and eventually settled in Rochester Hills, Michigan, where they lived for over 20 years. In fall of 1977, Nancy and Ted received the exciting news of twins to be adopted and Meredith and Alicia arrived into their lives. The girls brought joy into her life and always kept her on her toes. 

In 1972, Nancy and friends Julie (Jenkins) Morton and Nancy (Knorr) Polk founded a needleworks shop, Knit Cetera, in Oxford, Michigan, and operated it for several years. 

Nancy was an avid volunteer with the Rochester Garden Club joining in 1976. She even continued to be involved once she moved to Georgia. Some of her roles and committees included, Parliamentarian, Newsletter Editor, Finance Chairman, Programs Chair, May Luncheon Committee, Greens Market - fresh greens and Horticulture Committee. She received the Distinguished Member award in 2011 and was the go-to person for any problems that popped up. Nancy was thoughtful and diplomatic and she handled problems quickly and efficiently.

Nancy’s love for volunteering was not limited to the Garden Club. She also served as a Michigan Optometric Association Women’s Auxiliary member starting in 1967, serving as President in 1980-81. She served as representative for AAOA/AFVA to the National Safety Council Youth Division starting in 1982, was awarded Mrs. O.D. in 1985 and received the Benjamin Stein Award and President’s Award in 1990. She remained involved as it transitioned into the Michigan Foundation for Vision Awareness. Serving on the MFVA Advisory Board from 1995-2015, she helped distribute endowment funds. Nancy was instrumental in starting Opening Eyes at Special Olympics Michigan in 2000 and continued as the volunteer coordinator through 2016. 

For over 50 years, Nancy was the bookkeeper for the family's optometric office and was essential in bringing the office into the computer age. She was also an integral part of the bookkeeping at Premier Travel in Birmingham, Michigan, for many years. She was a member of Lake Orion United Methodist Church where she was a Sunday counter and also helped with vacation bible school registration and advertising. 

Nancy loved all sports and frequently made small wagers on her favorite sporting events. It was not uncommon to be included in discussions of the football pool or Indy 500 race. She was especially fond of baseball and enjoyed going to games with family and friends. She and Ted traveled frequently to Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, to the horse races and placed their minimum bets. While she loved betting on sports, it was never about the money but a good natured competitiveness. As an example of this, Nancy and Ted had a longstanding one dollar bet on the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game every time these two teams played.

You could usually find Nancy and the girls at the pool most summer days and working in her flower gardens the other days. Wednesday nights and Sundays were spent on their sailboat, the Linekin, some days racing and others, enjoying a casual sail around Lake St. Clair. As accomplished and enthusiastic sailors, Nancy and Ted often went south for vacations which included bareboat charters in the Caribbean Islands. Once they sold the sailboat, they moved to Oxford Lake where they had small sailboats and a pontoon boat for swimming and playing with the granddaughters. Nancy loved taking the granddaughters flower shopping for her garden or to the children’s garden at Van Hoosen Farm to plant flowers or just play and explore. These trips oftentimes were her most cherished memories of her granddaughters.

If Nancy wasn’t busy creating clever poems and cute clipart publishings on her computer, she was definitely cooking up fantastic dishes or coordinating neighborhood get-togethers. She was a great writer and you might be lucky enough to receive one of her creative poems or jingles at either a birthday or other special occasion. Nancy was a friend to all. She had a way about her that just drew people in and they were friends from that moment on. 

Nancy is survived by her daughters Alicia (Benjamin) Steele of Templeton, CA, and Meredith (Michael) Tongish of Grovetown, GA, granddaughters Grace Steele, Phoebe Tongish, and Addie Tongish, as well as nieces, nephews, and their families.

A celebration of Nancy’s life will be hosted by family and friends on Saturday June 21, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Lake Orion United Methodist Church 140 East Flint Street, Lake Orion, MI 48362. 

Condolence cards may be mailed to  Alicia Steele and Family at 778 Crocker Street, Templeton, CA 93465 and/or Meredith Tongish and Family at 671 Shipley Ave. Grovetown, GA 30813. 

 Nancy’s memory may also be honored by donating to The Rochester Garden Club at https://rochestergardenclub.org/donate/ (Donate by check option is preferred) or Opening Eyes at Special Olympics Michigan https://give.classy.org/Nancy-Walton-Memorial