Nancy Joy Hamilton Strickland

Nancy Joy Hamilton Strickland, 66, died on Dec. 6, 2017. Nancy was born in Kenedy to Bill and Bette Hamilton. She attended school in Kenedy and developed a love for the arts, particularly music and theatre. After graduation, she attended the University of Texas in Austin, where she studied English and Theatre Arts. While at UT, she also met and married Thomas Strickland in 1972. Upon graduation from UT in 1974, she began her teaching and directing career in Wortham. In 1976, Nancy and Tom moved to Weimar and both began working at Weimar High School. This started a long and very distinguished career as a director within the University Interscholastic League One Act Play contest. She won first place at state meet in 1982 in her last year at Weimar High School. From there, she moved on to Schulenburg High School, where she continued her legacy of excellence in the classroom and on the stage. Numerous trips to state meet were only a small reflection of the countless lives that she affected both in the theatre and in the classroom. Much later in her career, she was led to a new passion - working with students diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She left her decades-long career and transitioned to working in the special education department in the life skills classroom for several years. Following her abrupt departure from Schulenburg ISD, she returned to Weimar and worked within their special education department teaching Resource English until her retirement in 2015. Beyond Nancy’s work in the local school districts, people know her most for her work with Tom at Veterans Park - Strickland Field. They spent countless hours together working on the field, preparing for tournaments, and developing the Babe Ruth program for the region. Nancy could be found in the concession stand at virtually every game played on the field since they took over management of the park in 1976. She will be remembered by her family and friends as a lover of cats, the Texas Longhorns, college sports (especially football), professional tennis, and musicals. Although she could discuss those subjects for hours, her favorite topics were her daughter and her grandsons and their recent accomplishments. Nancy is survived by her husband, Tom; her daughter, Kathleen; her son-in-law, Keith Williamson; and her grandsons, Sean and Kayne. She is preceded in death by her parents and her daughter, Katherine. A celebration of life is planned for Sunday, Dec. 17 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Sengelmann Hall in Schulenburg. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Weimar Vets Park (P.O. Box 864).