Nancy Marie (Batcheller) Lindblad

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, August 21, at 11am at the First Church of Ludlow, 859 Center St., Ludlow.

It is with great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of Nancy Marie Lindblad on March 30, 2020 while resting comfortably at her home in the company of her son, her granddaughter and a friend.  She was just shy of her 83rd birthday.

Born in 1937 in Springfield, MA to the late Walter and Ruth (Lackstrom) Batcheller, she attended local schools and graduated from Classical High School in 1954.  Nancy then earned her Dental Assisting Certificate from (now) Putnam Vocational.

She married the love of her life, Mason Lindblad in February 1958 and had 3 children: Peter of Ludlow, MA; Karen and her husband Kevin Jackson of Lakeland, FL and Ann Cronin and her husband Jack of West Roxbury, MA.

Nancy worked as a dental assistant for years and then in the Springfield Public Schools Lunch Department as a cafeteria worker/cook, retiring in 2003 to head to Florida to take care of her daughter’s family while Karen recovered from a bone marrow transplant donated by Ann.

Nancy returned to Ludlow where she was a very active retiree.  She loved to work at the polls every election.  She volunteered at the Ludlow Public Schools where she was also very proud to award the scholarship named after Mason (who passed at 61 in 1995) to the deserving middle schooler who earned it each year.

She attended St. Aidans and Union Church in Springfield.  She leaves behind her church family at the First Church of Ludlow where she had been a member for almost 30 years.

She was proud of being a Rainbow Girl in her youth and also a life long camper and charter member of the Pioneer Valley chapter of the North American Family Campers Association (NAFCA).  She loved the Ludlow Senior Center and her many friends with whom she shared lunches.

A very social lady, Nancy would start her morning at the Dunkin Donuts and loved to go to the Y for swimming, although she never entered the water face first!

She dined out often with her circle of school teacher friends.  She loved to travel with her sister and her husband.  She loved to play pinochle and card games.  She did puzzles and played dominoes with her grandchildren.  Nancy loved to read romance novels and do crosswords and was very proud of her ability to remember numbers, which made it so sad that Alzheimer’s was part of her burden in her last few years.

Most of all, Nancy was proud of being of Swedish heritage and loved her family and gave us many memories which will be treasured and forever cherished.  In addition to her children, Nancy leaves behind her sister, Ruthanne Pitkin and her husband Bernie of Newville, PA; grandchildren Mark Lindblad, Jillian Steacy, Nick Applebee, Chelsea Lindblad, Ian Jackson, Andrew and Kelli Cronin; along with many other family members and friends.  She was predeceased by her brother John Batcheller.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Friends of the Ludlow Senior Center, 37 Chestnut St., Ludlow, MA 01056; First Church of Ludlow, 859 Center St., Ludlow, MA 01056 or Baystate VNA and Hospice, 280 Chestnut St., Springfield, MA 01199.

A Celebration of Life will be held at First Church of Ludlow when the world is a safer place and we are allowed to do so.  A notice will be published in the newspaper when the date is determined.

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