By Sharon Wass

Nancy Lee came to the Columbia Valley in 1927 along with her mother and sisters.  The first two years they lived with her Aunt Barbara and Uncle Eric Smith at the U5 Ranch in Edgewater.  As the depression advanced, Nancy was only too glad to leave school to help out at the ranch.

When the ladies moved to Athalmer, Nancy continued to enjoy working outdoors as much as possible.  There was a stock yard close to the tracks and Nancy would often go out with the Tegart boys to round up “some wild ones.”  The horses were not really wild; they had once belonged to settlers who were enticed to the so called orchard land of the Columbia Valley and when they sold out, the horses were often left to fend for themselves.

Nancy remembered that her mother hated to see anyone go hungry.  Their house was only a short ways from the tracks, and many a tramp came off the rails and headed for Mrs. Lee’s house to see if she needed some wood chopped in exchange for a meal.  There was a flood the spring after the Lee ladies moved to Athalmer.  The Lake family’s field was almost totally immersed except for a small rise of land where their cow had taken refuge.  Nancy recalls seeing Mrs. Lake wading out through the spring runoff, bucket in one hand and a milking stool in the other, to milk the cow.  She

made a comical sight seated on a small island surrounded by water, peacefully milking her cow. (Nancy said a picture of it was in the town.)

Their next home was across the lake in Windermere.  Nancy was happily minding the stock at Rufus Kimpton’s place when her late father’s cousin came for a visit.  She offered to pay for a year at UBC’s agricultural college for Nancy.  Off she went for a year in Vancouver. When Nancy returned from UBC her mother bought the B Arrow Ranch located where the Castle Rock Estate is today.  Nancy enjoyed those years, never minding that the lion’s share of the work

landed on her shoulders.

Nancy’s mother sold the ranch in 1936 and Nancy headed for Vancouver. Jobs in the dirty ‘30s were few and far between.  Nancy worked a few housekeeping and nanny jobs and worked at Fairbridge Farm on Vancouver Island. Finally she landed a job with Woodward’s and was working there the night of Pearl Harbour.  Shortly after, Nancy began to put the wheels in motion to sign up.

January of 1943 found Nancy and a handful of other women boarding an icy ship in Halifax heading to England to support the troops as members of the Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division.  She was a transport driver until demobilization in August of 1946.

Upon returning to Canada, she discovered that by staying for the reconnaissance she missed out on training program funding. Although disappointed at not being able to go to Veterinary College, Nancy was not deterred from finding a way to work with animals.  She and another lady vet leased five acres of land in White Rock and started an Angora farm.  This was a profitable venture for a couple of years until the Italians came back on the market.  Nancy did a little work with a veterinary clinic at the coast, then headed back to the valley to help with Christmas treeing and visit family.

The 1950s were gypsy years with Nancy working at Sunshine Village, Sulphur Mountain, Waterton National Park and a variety of other places.  She also became reacquainted with Lloyd Tegart whom she eventually married in May of 1958. After living in Prince George and Calgary for a few years, Nancy and Lloyd moved back to the Columbia Valley and, with assistance from the Veteran’s Land Act, developed the Hidden Valley Ranch.  Sadly, Lloyd passed away in May of 1967 in a tragic accident at the ranch. Nancy stayed on at the ranch for a few years before beginning another phase of gypsy years using the Olde Corby Place Ranch as her home base.

Nancy had a true pioneer spirit.  She never feared change or new beginnings.  She worked on ranches doing whatever needed doing.  She worked as a housekeeper, a waitress, a nurse’s aide and a bus driver. Many autumns saw her helping with Christmas trees and many springs found her helping with calving.  At an age where most people are thinking of retiring, Nancy started an animal babysitting business spending most of 1975 and 1976 travelling around Alberta and British Columbia helping out on farms and ranches.  Nancy was an active volunteer wherever she lived. In the valley here she helped out with programs like the ladies’ auxiliary and the saddle club.

Horses were always a special love of Nancy’s.  Whenever something biographical was being written about Nancy she would make sure it was noted that among her other accomplishments she was a horse breeder. Some of her proudest moments were watching one of her ponies winning ribbons.

When Nancy was 88 she decided to write a short story about horses she had known. Three years later she published her biography with friend and co-author, Sharon Wass.  At the age of 92, she moved off the ranch into Columbia Garden Village and from there eventually into Columbia House.  Although she gradually slept more and more of each day, she retained a sharp wit and a wonderful sense of humour in her waking moments.

Nancy wanted to leave a legacy for young people who wanted to pursue a life in agriculture.  Although horses were her first love, she was active in many organizations like the East Kootenay Environmental Society (Now Wildsight), and the Jumbo Wild.  She was pleased to see any advances that made for a more sustainable way to farm.  With this in mind, the Nancy Tegart Agricultural Award was created for anyone who wanted to pursue education in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and sustainable farming techniques.  The first recipient in 2010 was Jessica Santini and the second was Sally Zwiers.  Nancy was very proud to meet these young ladies and wish them luck in their studies.

Nancy’s faith in God was unwavering.  She was confident that not only would she be reunited with family and friends on the other side, but also with her many wonderful animal companions.

Happy Trails, dear Nancy, ‘til we meet again.

For more: https://www.mcphersonfh.com/obituaries/Nancy-Tegart/

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