Nancy Lynne Adams-Boorman passed away in Courtenay, BC on June 6, 2022 at age 74. She had traveled up to the Comox valley with her husband Greg, their son Devon, and his partner Anneka to visit with her grandchildren Verity and Cormack and their mother Allie. After a brief but lovely visit in Courtenay, Nancy suddenly and unexpectedly suffered a stroke in her sleep and passed away peacefully a day later. 

Nancy lived most of her life on the west coast, in Victoria and Surrey. She was predeceased by her mother, Frances Hayward; her father, John Adams; cousins Ramon and Sylvia; father-in-law, Harry; and aunts Mary and Ruth. 

Nancy was a lover of music, art, dance, nature, and everything beautiful. She was full of grace, kindness, patience, joy, love and fun. Her bright spirit was apparent in the way she decorated her home, how she dressed, in her artwork, and how she prepared meals. She loved to travel and visited Turkey, Spain, Italy, France, England, Denmark, and Switzerland as well as Ontario, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington State, California and Oregon.

She adored and doted on her son Devon (partner, Anneka); grandchildren Taylor (mother, Jeni), Verity (mother, Allie) and Cormack (parents, Allie and Chris) and she jumped at every chance to see them. They were always on her mind. She also leaves behind her beloved husband Greg; mother-in-law, Olive; brother-in-law, Tim (wife, Sherry); sister-in-law, Myrna (husband, Gary); cousins Kathy, Lori, Danny, and Michelle, and many other dear relatives and friends. 

Nancy was born premature as an RH negative baby on March 17, 1948 in Victoria, BC and spent the first three months of her life in the preemie ward of Royal Jubilee Hospital. She quickly made up for her tender start in life and grew to be a beautiful tall woman. 

Nancy’s childhood was mainly spent in Victoria, though she spent a brief time in Vancouver during her mom’s second marriage and eight months in England when her mother attempted to relocate there. For a time, Nancy lived at the Cridge orphanage with her father while her mother was hospitalized. He took a position there as a gardener so he could better look after Nancy. 

Sadly,  Nancy lost her mother in her teens. Her father had always been a big part of her life and was now foremost. 

In her teenage years, Nancy became part of the music and hippie movement and enjoyed going to clubs, love-ins and concerts in Victoria and Vancouver with her many friends. She and her closest friends would design and sew unique outfits to wear to the dances. They made a version of bell bottoms that added floral and patterned fabric below the knee instead of the traditional bell which they wore with matching tops. Photos of Nancy and her friends wearing their creations were often seen in the Daily Colonist and Victoria Times Newspapers, and some of their original designs were copied by San Francisco boutiques and marketed a year later.

Nancy was always concerned that her father would not understand or approve of some of her activities and hippy friends. Her father, John, was on the Saanich police force so she worked to keep a relatively low profile. 

Amid a very busy social life, Nancy graduated from Victoria High School in 1967 and took a job with the government in the Department of Vital Statistics. After seeing the Maharishi on one of his visits to Victoria she became interested in Transcendental Meditation (TM), became initiated in the meditation program, and soon after embarked on the TM teacher training course in Switzerland. She spent three months in each of the French, Italian and German alps and had the honour of a personal meeting with the Yogi. 

Upon her return, Nancy attended Camosun College. There she became aware of the impending global environmental crisis and began to lobby vigorously for Mother Earth by attending protests and lectures and later helped to found the Semiahmoo Home Environmentalists Network (SHEN). During her time at Camosun she met her future husband Greg Boorman at the popular dancing haunt, the Thatch Night Club. Together, they enjoyed a wide variety of friends and a very busy social life. 

Greg and Nancy were happily married in 1978 and took their first trip abroad together to England for their honeymoon. Soon after, work took them to Trail where their son Devon was born. After a year and a half in Trail, they relocated to Surrey where they lived for the next 45 years. During this time, Nancy attended Kwantlen College to pursue her artistic endeavours and also worked at several of the district’s libraries where she made more lifelong friends. Her artistic talents were called upon regularly to design eye-catching informative displays at the various libraries, and Nancy put on several presentations at the college as well. One project in particular was decorating a hall for a Hookers and Vickers dance. With a classmate, she painted posters and created all sorts of tasteful, appropriate props for the dance. 

Through these years her foremost thoughts were always for her son, Devon and her husband, Greg. Nancy was a patient, just, fun-loving mom and a steadfast, loving, giving wife, and she always remained a trusted, loyal friend. On weekends Nancy could be found performing the duties of deckhand, first mate and cook on their junk style sailboat, Transition II, attending music festivals and art galleries. 

Nancy was an active painter and textile artist. Through her life, she painted many acrylic paintings of garden scenes, portraits, and self-portraits as well as doing embroidery and making hats. Her love of both people and nature shone through in all of these works. An avid reader, Nancy always had a book or two on the go. She was a lover of documentaries, black comedies and musicals, and during her later years it was not uncommon to find her and a friend or two sleeping through a movie at the theatre.

In 2017 life took Nancy and Greg back to Victoria and they were able to enjoy more time with family, reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones at the Unitarian Church and the James Bay Seniors’ Center. 

Nancy was always ready to help her fellow man. She shoveled snow for the neighbours, helped people move, and was always ready to lend a hand, an ear, or a hug. She was often concerned with others’ troubles and challenges. An eager beaver; she never grumbled even when doing mundane tasks. She had a lightness of spirit and an infectious sense of humour. Not many people can make cleaning a toilet fun, but Nancy could!  

Nancy enjoyed a healthy, happy life until 2019 when symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease progressed rapidly, rendering her more and more incapacitated. Though she suffered greatly, she carried on as best as she could in spite of her challenges. 

Nancy will be fondly and lovingly remembered and forever missed by the multitude of hearts she touched. 

A celebration of Nancy’s life was held on July 24 at the Norway House in Victoria. Thank you to all who joined us. You can watch the memorial which includes speaking from her husband, son, extended family, and best friends, singing from her sister in law and a slideshow from her life. It’s available on Youtube here.

Posting your photos, anecdotes, and memories of Nancy here would be greatly appreciated.

Donations may be made in Nancy’s memory to the David Suzuki Foundation, an organization that through evidence-based research, education and policy analysis, works to conserve and protect the natural environment and help create a sustainable Canada. Nancy was an avid supporter of their work.

Many thanks to the paramedics, ER, and ICU staff at North Island Hospital for their gentle, unhurried and respectful care during Nancy’s last hours. 

Nancy Lynne Adams Boorman: forever missed, never forgotten.