I wasn't even 20 yrs. old yet when I 1st met this dear lady. Little did I know then what an impact she was going to have on my life. It is hard to put into one story words as there have been so many along the way and because I know her story will live on, never ending. Nancy left that legacy for all of us that knew and loved her. We have all learned it thru the generations and we will carry it on. 

    Our family, (I'm married to Jeff her oldest son) are local to where she and Dan have lived in Ga. for her later years. Visiting often prior, thru her Hospice, and now after, it is evident that she is everywhere in that home and will continue to be. Grammy has sweetly left her mark.

    However, yes, stories have flooded my mind as I wrestled with the thought that I had to let her go. Then, I realized NO, I have the stories. SO many stories to keep her memory alive. Of course those stories that pop up aren't without tears but they are forever and they are healing in her loss. Just the other day I teared up remembering vividly sitting on the floor wrapping a present many years ago (when we wrapped instead of gift bagged, LOL) Nancy was there and I was struggling. Noticing she said, "you aren't feeling well are you?" Emotionally, I burst into tears letting her be the 1st to know that no, I didn't feel well and it was an all too familiar feeling. I was a little worried what Jeff's reaction would be given this was just 17.5 months since birth of our 1st born. She just hugged me for the blessing of new life, laughed and told me I might as well go on and tell him, "It's not gonna change!" Little did we know, exactly 3 yrs. later almost the same scenario would happen, when I worriedly told her news of the 3rd and the hubbie was already settled and super busy with our 2. Grammy and I got some good laughs out of that GUESS WHAT news and she never skipped a beat in helping guide, love and support our 3 as a loving Grandmother.

    Not on everything but certainly on values and family we were always on the same page. One thing I loved mostly about Grammy was her feistiness. One of my husbands favorite things to say about his mother is, "she's a wildcat!" What a tenacious single mother for many years of all boys she was. Had to be. Yet, she also later had 3 daughters in law & 3 granddaughters. She always treated us as the daughters she never had. Even though she knew boys she reminded us often of the value and power of women and how resilient and self sufficient we can be. None of this "A son is a son til he gets a wife, but a daughter is a daughter all her life." old adage for us. We agreed on what bologna that is and preferred another saying we saw out shopping one day, "Love is grand and there's more than enough love to go around. Share it!" Amen to that which we've always tried to adopt as much as possible. Another sign of beautiful legacy you've left that, God willing, I hope I can pass on.

One last story because yes, I'm known as the lengthy one. Grammy and Dan treated us all to a wonderful Christmas cruise one year before all the grand kids were too grown and on their own agenda. What a blessing it was. One I pray we'll do again in her honor before too long. No doubt Grammy would smile down on that. Any way, we were all dressed in our finest for evening dining. Grammy and I were puzzled at seating that the waiting staff inquired if I was, Kathy, addressing me by name? I nodded & we continued on with the fabulous dining experience. At after dinner coffee, here comes the entire wait staff in our section to sing, "Happy Birthday to Kathy" toting a scrumptious detailed custom made & decorated cake. Grammy was sitting across from me. We exchanged glances. She smirked with a bit of a shoulder shake as did I. We share October Bdays which we had celebrated months earlier. There are several October Bdays in our family and of course, Grammy never missed a one. Following the song, a waiter in broken English grinned & said, "It's not your Birthday is it?" We fessed up but not until we made sure the mistake would still be our gain. They obliged and we laughed until we cried, the waiter too, although I'm not sure the family of the intended Kathy were laughing.

  Before her passing during one of the more non responsive days one of ours whispered in her ear of reaching a milestone, graduating getting a bachelors degree long in coming. There was sadness wondering if she heard? If she knew? Sadness because she couldn't make the graduation. We know how important education is to her.  She knew, oh how she did. I know this because every step of the way she was there and she was glad. She will always be, for all of us. There is solace in that.

   You were loved, Nancy Louise Pollnow. You will be forever missed. Rest, Nancy. Have comfortable peace, and always know that we will continue to include and lift up to you what is going on in the sphere of your family and friends. We will always leave the light on for you because you are the one that put the light in us. Much love, Kathy.

If there was an event, party or a wedding with music, you could always count on Nancy and Dan Pollnow to hit the dance floor. If the deejay started playing music from the 1950s, Dan and Nance turned it up a notch -- twirling, spinning, dipping and cutting a rug across the dance floor. We always knew that Dan and Nancy could get the party started. In this photo you can see the Pollnows dancing the night away at the Mary and Dillon Leisure wedding with family and friends enjoying the show. We will all miss seeing their dancing. It was a joy to watch.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved dogs.  When I was about 6 or 7, I asked Mom if we could get another dog.  Now Mom loved dogs too but I'm sure that despite our promises to take care of the dog, she knew that it would be just yet another thing for her to be responsible for.  So to put me off, she told me that she wouldn't get another dog unless she got married again. She probably thought that with 3 young rowdy boys, it was highly unlikely that anyone would want to marry her.  Well along came Dan a few years later.  When Mom told us that they were going to be married, my selfish thought was "How does this benefit me?"  I immediately responded, "So, does this mean that we can get a dog?"  I am absolutely sure that she did not want to get another dog with all the upcoming life changes but she wasn't about to go back on her promise to me.  So that's how we ended up with a beloved Shih-Tzu/Poodle mix named Fuji.  Fuji gave us so much joy over the almost 20 years we had him. I can picture him sitting on Mom's lap in heaven as we speak.  We now have 2 Shih-tzus and a Shih-tzu/poodle mix. 

What an amazing example of looking past a tremendously difficult situation and living a life of love and grace! I met Nancy when I was very young as Jeff,  Mike and Doug are my brothers through a previous marriage.  Nancy left a great impression on me the first time we met.   I reflect upon the situation and emotions that had to exist,  however she only wanted to get to know me, help me and love me as one of her own.   I am truly grateful for her willingness to treat me in a manner that I never experienced with my own mother. 

Nancy was always a fun loving person who loved life.  An example of a Godly woman without question.   Even in extreme pain with her illnesses,  she never complained or wanted anyone to feel badly for her.   An amazing example of grace through life and going to be with Our Heavenly Father.   I'm truly in awe of how she lived such a life of love without indifference.   Thank you for being the Mom I never had!

Dan, thank you for loving me as well.   You are an incredible man and were blessed with such a wonderful wife!  Love you both. 

Love always, 

Jon Asher 

I met Nancy and  Dan when they joined our Sunday School class “The Journey” and what an addition she was! Nancy had a quick and funny wit as well as deep insights into the Scriptures! I loved to listen to her! 

Larry and I have great memories of Nancy! She loved our Sunday class Christmas party

A family cruise creates memories that last a lifetime. Few vacations were more memorable than Nancy and Dan Pollnow taking the Ash1 and Ash2 families for a trip on Norwegian Cruise Lines. With 6 adults and 5 grandchildren, it was a major undertaking. We cruised out of a Florida port to one of the most fun vacations a family could have together. The trip included full days at sea, relaxing by the pool, hanging out in hot tubs, getting unlimited sodas for the kids, shopping at cruise stops, touring Antigua in jeeps and chanting "Kenmore" (our driver's name), sunbathing and snorkeling on a private beach, eating burgers on deck, and joining together for family dinners and shows each night. We hated that vacation to end. And all those memories were made possible by our loving parents/grandparents, Nancy and Dan Pollnow.  

Throughout her life, Nancy Pollnow emphasized family and faith. In fact, family and faith go hand in hand when Nancy gets involved. Family gatherings at Christmas, reunions, summer vacations, and road trips often included aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great grandparents, and many friends of the family. Family comes first. Families stick together. Families love through good times and bad. A family endures. That's what my mom taught us. 

Nancy placed prayer and faith at the center of our family. She kept us involved in local church activities, and laid the foundation for each of us to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Her legacy lives on through her sons, grandchildren, family and friends, all of whom recognize a strong lady of faith. I wanted to share one of her favorite Bible chapters. She lived and loved with faith.

Psalm 23:1-6: A Psalm of David

Being a Grandmother, or "Grammy" as she called herself, was one of Nancy's biggest joys in life. Grammy was always proud to share stories and photos of her five grandbabies -- the girls (Mary, Kelsey & Jennifer) and the boys (Cole & Eric). Dan and Nancy attended all kinds of events and activities of these grandchildren, including Mary's soccer games, Jenny's cheerleading competitions, Kelsey's choir and orchestra concerts, Cole's soccer, tennis and basketball games, and Eric's basketball and football games. And she never hesitated to share her counseling advice about life, love, faith, family and education. A grandparent's job never ends. The T-shirt in this photo summed up the perfect sentiment of her role, "Happiness is being a Grammy." Kathy found this shirt and though it was perfect for Grammy.       

My parents got divorced when I was quite young.  I never had any bitterness or ill feelings about their divorce.  Sometimes people grow apart and a marriage just doesn't work anymore.  My father was right across town so we never lacked for anything.  But it did leave mom with 3 energetic young boys to manage mostly on her own though (for 7 years or so until she married Dan). I don't have any children but I have often marveled at how parents handle the utter chaos surrounding them.  I can't even fathom how mom handled the three of us by herself for so long.  I don't look back at that time as anything but happy--almost idyllic.  We had a great house filled with love (with the perfect back yard and basketball court for 3 boys), always had plenty of good, home-cooked food, and lots of friends.  And to top it all off, mom got her masters degree taking night classes at EKU during that period. I will never know how she accomplished all that while cooking, cleaning, working full-time, completing night school, disciplining us (maybe I'll tell you about the hated willow tree and it's evil progeny sometime), teaching us, and all the million other jobs that go along with raising 3 children.  I really don't think that she saw it as anything miraculous.  She didn't look at it as a burden, just a responsibility that she was going to meet no matter what.  I doubt that the 3 of us would be where we are today if she had taken that responsibility lightly. 

I was in the US Air Force from 1995 until 2015 and through 7 assignments, I moved around a good bit. Mom made sure to visit everywhere I went.  My second assignment was at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas NV. Not sure why but Mom and Dan came to visit over the 4th of July holiday. Now anyone who has been to Vegas will tell you that July is NOT the time to visit but that was their plan so it was going to happen. Now I had met a beautiful young Air Force nurse named Ann (now my wife of 18 years) and I was excited to have them meet her.  Coincidentally, one of the singularly most meaningful things happened to us that same weekend. An exhausted and dehydrated young Shih-tzu showed up in Ann’s driveway. Naturally she took him in and ‘George’ became the most beloved pet that either of us have ever known for the next 15 years of our lives. Looking back, it just seems so perfect that not only did she meet my future wife but our sweet Georgie too.  I remember Ann remarking, “WOW your parents are so nice!”  I always just assumed that most people’s parents were like that but that’s just not the case. I have never seen anyone have a closer relationship with an in-law. It’s cliche for a mother-in-law to say that you’re like a daughter to me but honestly, they really were like mother and daughter. There were many, many times where she would call and talk to Ann and never get around to talking to me. I am so very thankful how she embraced my wife. They enriched each other to no end. And, of course, she loved George too but they didn’t speak on the phone as often.

She is my mother.
She’s like no other.
She teaches us not to fear.
She wipes away our tears.

She lifts us up when we’re down,
While growing up in Winchester town.
She makes us laugh and smile.
She carries us many a mile.

She cheers our achievements.
And hears about our laments.
She gives us wings to fly.
She hugs us when we cry.

She’s there all of the days,
With praises as she prays.
She’s an easy mother to like.
She pours her love into life.

She’s a people person to all,
With wise counsel her duty calls.
Someday someone will ask me
What kind of mother was she?

A great lady. A caring parent.
A patient leader. God’s agent.
She’s all of that and much more.
She brightens each day we long for.

So I’ll just tell them – she’s my mother.
And I always loved her like no other.

In the summer of 2018, my mom (Nancy Pollnow) mentioned her love of the country artist, Miranda Lambert. I researched and bought tickets for Dan and Nancy to attend a concert at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati featuring Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town. They were joined by Mike, Liz and Jennifer, making it a memorable family gathering and a chance for her to see Miranda in concert. My only request was for Jenny to take a group selfie! The concert was a huge success, and something that mom enjoyed wholeheartedly.

As it turns out, that was the last road trip she would make. A week later she had to enter the hospital at Emory University. After two weeks at Emory, she was released to go home with hospice care to make her last days comfortable. Nancy is a tough country girl, and she remained with us another four-plus months. The Pollnows did get to celebrate that one special evening together with the Ash2 family. And it was truly a concert to remember :-) 

A picture tells a story. This one shows my mom, Nancy Pollnow, at her surprise 80th birthday party...and she was truly surprised. Somehow we were able to keep it a secret, and then about 70-80 family and friends arrived to celebrate with us at their neighborhood clubhouse in Canton, GA. Right after the group yelled "surprise" she launched into an impromptu speech that was impressive and memorable.