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Alumni Spotlight
Nancy (Brown) Decker – Vicksburg High School Class of 1954
She is one of the most familiar faces in Vicksburg, not leaving Vicksburg since she graduation, except for a short stint with here husband in the Army. When a student, she was very active—Pep Club, Drama Club, Library Club, Glee Club, Debate Team, Student Council and French Club.
Meet Nancy (Brown) Decker, a 1954 graduate who seems to come by community service naturally. Among Nancy's credits are Vicksburg Schools, South County Ambulance Service, and St. Martins Catholic Church.
Nancy and her parents, Ralph and Anna Brown, were among the first Driver Attendants when the Vicksburg Ambulance Service was founded May, 1969. Her parents are Charter Members. Nancy started riding with the ambulance in 1971, after the birth of her son. In the mid eighties, due to State Mandates, Ralph, Anna & Nancy became Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). At that time it was totally volunteer work until about 1998 when State Regulations changed and South County Emergency Medical Service had to pay the EMT's an hourly rate.
Nancy is still very active on the ambulance service, now called the South County Ambulance Service. She takes all Basic Life Transports (BLS) with the ambulance personnel. She has also expanded her duties to include teaching and certifying Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) classes to ambulance personnel, fire personnel, healthcare providers, daycare providers, bus drivers, school secretary's and other educational personnel. Nancy is a certified instructor through the American Red Cross and American Heart Association to teach First Aid classes. She takes care of the administrative duties for the ambulance service, which includes all membership tasks, such as renewal letters, membership cards, and data updates.
In the 80s and 90s Nancy worked 40-60 hours a week, while holding down a full time job and raising seven children. She still works many hours a week at the Service and enjoys it just as much as she ever has.
If you haven't run across Nancy at the South County Ambulance office, you may have crossed her path at Vicksburg Community Schools, where she was a Secretary for 20 years. She started at Sunset Lake Elementary, went over to Portage Schools for one year and returned to VCS. She has worked in the offices of maintenance, transportation, food service and at the High School Media Center, but spent the bulk of her time in transportation and maintenance office until her retirement in 1997.
Nancy is also an active member of St. Martin Catholic Church. She sings in the chore, helps in the office, works funeral dinners, fundraisers, (such as their annual rummage sale) and donates countless hours working on other church events.
Retirement has Nancy taking up quilting, attending retreats, shop hops, and many other activities related to quilting. She makes quilts for family members who are celebrating a special occasion. She lo designed and made a quilt for the VHS Class of 1957 (one of her sisters graduated in that class) for their 50th Class Reunion in 2007.
Nancy and her husband, Otto, have been married for 53 years and have lived in the same house, in Vicksburg, for that entire time. They have seven children, 16 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Three of their children still live in the Vicksburg area. Four grandchildren are attending VCS now and 5 grandchildren have attended and graduated from VCS. All live within a 30-mile radius (Otsego, Sturgis and Kalamazoo).
Nancy and her mother, who lives in Vicksburg, can often be seen walking area roads – they put in many miles together throughout the year. Her father, Ralph, passed away in 1992.
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Alumni Resources |
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