Notes for Nancy Carol Collins

Family Group Sheet

Notes for Nancy Carol Collins

Obit
Nancy Collins "Penny" Gerking
Nancy "Penny" Collins GERKING Aug. 12, 1934 Milton-Freewater, OR Mar. 28, 2010 Walla Walla, WA Penny was an R.N., a poet, and a scholar, but her family was her pride and joy. Mom worked at Harborview and at Highline Community Hospital before changing careers. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the UW, studying under David Wagoner, Heather McHugh, and Sharon Bryan. She was published in print journals including Lyric, Outer Darkness, and Perspectives and several online magazines, including The Horsethief's Journal, Nectarzine, Mipoesias, Ella, and The Green Tricycle. She administered the online Cenotaph Fiction Forum and The Ready Pen, and edited the online publication Retrozine. Penny is survived by her husband of 60 years, Phillip Deane Gerking; her children Phillip, Tawney, Meredith, Matthew, Darby, Amelie and their spouses; 13 grandchildren 11 great-grandchildren; and two sisters and two brothers. A Celebration of Penny's life will be held at the new home she loved so much in Walla Walla on Saturday April 3 at 3 pm. More information is posted on the family's CaringBridge site. Remembrances to Saltwater Unitarian Universalist Church, Des Moines, WA. We love you, mom. We're so glad you made it back to the valley among the rolling hills that always meant "home" to you