Nancy Joyce Belnap Obituary (1946 - 2022)

Obituary Nancy Joyce Rodgers Belnap In her 75 years, Nancy Belnap taught her family many things. Our mom taught us to laugh, cry, and curse if you have to; to go skydiving in your 60's; to sit on the edge of your seat through Disney movies; to say how you feel, and mean what you say; to leg wrestle your grown kids; to be a flirt; to keep a stash of chocolate throughout the house; to lay in the sun; to take a belly dancing class; to say, "Watch me do it" and prove people wrong; to say, "I love you most!"; and to give and give and give. Nancy Joyce Rodgers was born March 30, 1946, in Marmaduke, Arkansas, the oldest of three kids. As a young girl, our mom experienced work on her grandparents' farm, picking cotton (her hands still bear the scars), and attending church and revivals with the Church of Christ. She moved with her family from Arkansas to California when she was about ten years old, but she never lost her Southern sass and love for fried chicken and okra. In California, tragedy struck when Nancy's dad died at the age of 31. Around age 12, Mom beginning working as a cook with her grandparents on a large California corporate farm where they provided three meals a day for over 100 workers - the birth of her incomparable cooking skills. In high school, Mom's good looks and fun-loving personality meant that she had lots of attention from boys. She was also a cheerleader, something that we both admired and teased her about. It was in high school that Mom said she first heard the word, "Mormon." She eventually accepted the invitation to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and at the age of 19 she was baptized a member. She was the only member of her family to convert. In 1967, at the age of twenty-one, Nancy decided to do the unthinkable and sold her very own '65 Mustang to finance her call to serve as a missionary for the LDS Church in Central America. Our mom learned to speak Spanish while serving with other missionaries throughout Honduras and Costa Rica. Among the many young men and women missionaries in Central America was a certain sober-minded young man from Rupert, Idaho, named Lyman Belnap. Mom had a distinct premonition that this young man might figure prominently in her future--but getting to know each other was to wait until after their missionary service. After their missions, Nancy and Lyman dated while working and attending Brigham Young University and were married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 28, 1970. Kids came along right away. After our dad finished law school, our parents settled in Boise. There, the kids continued to come. Our mom sewed, cooked, cleaned, did the "warsh," repaired things, cut hair, and generally went crazy raising the kids, running the home, and supporting Dad in his various Church assignments. In 1984, when the call came for our dad to serve as international legal counsel in Central America for the LDS Church, Mom willingly followed with six kids in tow--ages 2 to 13. Off we went, first to Costa Rica for a year, and then to Guatemala for two years. Raising kids in Central America was sometimes scary, but after a while, our mom seemed to settle in and enjoy it. Those three years living abroad created connections that changed our family forever. We settled back in Boise, and Dad re-established his law practice. Our mom began her new venture as mom of several teenagers. This was also when she began her tradition of baking hundreds of cinnamon rolls at Christmastime to give to family and friends. Over the years, Mom continued her work as the wind beneath our wings. She was devoted to her Savior Jesus Christ, and took seriously her assignment of teaching early morning seminary and youth and adult Sunday School classes for many years. And in 1998, with only one kid left at home, our dad accepted another legal counsel position for the Church--this time to Mexico City--and off they went again for another three years, where Mom learned to navigate a massive city with wild and crazy traffic. By this time, the kids were serving Church missions of their own, going away to school, getting married, and making our mom a grandma. Mom eventually hit retirement age, but she never retired. She proceeded to not only run her own home--hosting bigger and bigger meals for the ever-expanding extended family--but also helping her adult kids on their many moves, with painting projects, leaky faucets, furniture assembling, sewing and hemming, cutting hair, and on and on. Despite having lived long distances from her siblings and her own extended family for many years, Mom always treasured her Rodgers family roots. She began to make up for lost time by making annual trips to be with her sister Donna and her brother Larry. And through these later years, we witnessed Mom became more and more at peace with honoring her own inner voice, not apologizing for doing things in her own beautiful way. Mom died on January 12, 2022. Before she passed that day, her kids and grandkids were able to gather and surround her with love and prayers. The family wants to express our thanks for the many ways you have reached out with love and concern during this difficult time. Nancy is survived by our dad, Lyman; her sister, Donna (Tony) Bucci of Temecula, California; her brother Larry (Julie) Rodgers of Roswell, New Mexico; her kids: Deborah (Damien) Bard (Springville, Utah), Adria (David) Young, Emily (Joe) Piscione, Cathryn Belnap, Eric (Andrea) Belnap, Mary (Ryan) Johnson, all of the Boise area; as well as 23 grandkids. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Gosha Education Foundation, Inc. a tax-exempt 501(c)(3), EIN 46-1144547. This Foundation was created and is supported by the Belnap family. The Foundation supports the Somali Bantu Tribe members located in the US to help their people trapped in refugee camps with food, water, medicines, mosquito nets, schools and teachers. Checks may be written out to "Gosha Education Foundation" and mailed to: Gosha Education Foundation c/o Zeyer Funeral Chapel 83 N. Midland Blvd. Nampa, ID 83651 Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at the Northview LDS Chapel, 6711 W Northview St, Boise, Idaho. We are honored to share her funeral via a livestream broadcast at the following web address: https://zoom.us/j/95633456331. For those who do wish to attend in person, we ask that you please wear a mask and help keep appropriate distances. (Masks will also be provided at the service.) A viewing will be held at the Northview Chapel, Friday, January 21, 2022 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, January 22, from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: Jan 22, 2022 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada) Topic: Nancy Belnap celebration of life. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/95633456331 Or One tap mobile : US: +12532158782,,95633456331# or +13462487799,,95633456331# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 Webinar ID: 956 3345 6331 International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/adSAoY4qkx