Nancy J. Mcgrath

Nancy Munger McGrath will be remembered for her laughter and love of life by her family and friends. She passed away on April 18, 2014, and will be dearly missed.

Nancy was born in Fort Morgan, Colorado, on November 13, 1928, to Glen Orville and Genevieve Conner Munger. She grew up in Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas along with her older brother, Glen Jr. Nancy graduated from Manhattan High School and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in home economics and journalism from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi Sorority. Nancy met her future husband, Harry Benton McGrath of Beloit, Kansas, at KSU and they were married on September 10, 1949. They moved to Beloit after graduating in 1950 to start a family and pursue their careers. Harry Jr., Terry and Molly were born in Beloit and over the next 18 years the family moved to Colorado and Missouri for professional opportunities. Nancy managed family life on the farm outside Beloit for eight years and then operated her own preschool there. She did freelance writing, teaching, and eventually became a real estate broker in St. Louis, Missouri. Her most enjoyable hobby with her husband was investing in and breeding Charolais cattle. After 32 years of marriage, Nancy lost her husband suddenly to a heart attack in 1981.

Nancy retired from real estate in 1990 and moved from St. Louis to Boulder, Colorado, where she became the Chi Omega sorority housemother. She enjoyed campus life at the University of Colorado until retiring in 1998 when she moved to Denver to relax, golf, play bridge and volunteer as an ambassador at DenverInternationalAirport. Her love of baseball led her to work in the reserved boxes at Coors Stadium, cheering on the Rockies. Living in Denver's WindsorGardens offered her the opportunity to serve on the Home Owners Association Board of Directors for many years, and to serve as its president in 2006. Nancy's passions included reading, needlepointing, golf, bridge, mahjong, skiing, walking and being a grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved watching college and professional football, golf and baseball along with Bandito and Otis – her two beloved cats given to her by her granddaughter, Melissa. Travel was frequent with friends and family. Together, they enjoyed cruises, cultural events and unusual activities like dog mushing, river rafting and snowshoeing on a remote glacier in Alaska.

Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Harry Benton McGrath Sr., an executive with National Steel Corporation, her parents, her brother, Glen O. Munger Jr., and her granddaughter-in-law Cari Winebrenner McGrath. She is survived by her son Harry McGrath Jr., and his wife Barbara, of Beloit, Kansas; daughter Terry McGrath Craig and her husband Robert, of Keystone, Colorado; daughter Molly McGrath and her husband Christopher Puchner, of Fairbanks, Alaska; sister-in-law Maryellen Munger, nephews Mark and Ron Munger, niece Becky Munger Wilson, nephew Kim Nelson, niece Stephanie McGrath and nephew Jon McGrath. Family was very important in Nancy's life and she leaves behind her grandson Scott McGrath and his wife, Lisa, of Hays, Kansas; grandson Dave McGrath and his wife, Amy, of Garden City, Kansas; granddaughter Melissa McGrath Thompson and her husband, Sean, of Lenexa, Kansas; and granddaughter Kathleen Craig Jacobs and her husband, Jim, of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Nine great-grandchildren brightened her life and are Benton, Jaren, Lilian, Lynsi and Layci of Hays, Kansas; Danni and Thomas of Garden City, Kansas; and Parker and Grady of Lenexa, Kansas.

Graveside services will be at 11 AM Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at the Elmwood Cemetery in Beloit. Visitation will be from 1-8 PM Tuesday, April 29 at the McDonald Funeral Home. Memorials may be given to the Beloit Meals on Wheels, the Nancy Munger McGrath Memorial Scholarship Fund (M47050) at the Kansas State University Foundation (1-800-432-1578 or foundation@found.ksu.edu) or in her memory at the Friends of the Colorado Talking Book Library (friendsofctbl.org).