Nancy L. Shady

Nancy Lee Shady, age 82, loving beautiful mother of two and adoring wife of Gerald “Bum”, Shady passed away peacefully on February 14, 2022, after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer.

Nancy was born on February 9, 1940, to Harold and Doris Schmitz. She was blessed to be the older sister to Jim Schmitz. She and her brother shared many memories together living in Oakfield in the family home. She loved her brother deeply and always called him each year on his birthday to remind him of that love.

The love of her life is Gerald “Bum” Shady. She met him when they were 9 years old when he started attending the Oakfield Schools. They were the Homecoming King and Queen for Oakfield High School. On February 4, 1961, Gerry and Nancy exchanged marital vows and just celebrated 61 years of that undying love for each other. During this time together, they were blessed with two children, Tim and Tammy.

After High School, Nancy started her career as an Administrative Assistant to many companies. Her greatest career achievement was being a trusted and loyal employee to Badger Liquor Company in Fond du Lac, WI, until she retired at the age of 70. She devoted her life to the Sadoff Family (Gary and the late Art, Ben, and Ronald and their families) not only on a professional level but also on a personal level. She took care of them like her own family. She was very respected and loved by all staff for just being Nancy.

As a mother and grandmother, she was loving, compassionate, fun, generous, and most of all caring – always worrying about everyone’s safety before her own. She gave all her love to each and every member of her family even during her illness. She never considered Susie Shady or Jim Wiese as in-laws – to her they were a daughter and son.

She earned the nickname “Snowball” from her grandchildren after one adventure of going to a Christmas tree lot to cut a tree. She could not be found for an hour until the kids got on top of the truck and said they found her because they could see her white hair in the distance. Each of her grandchildren were given their own special nicknames from Grandma at a very early age and they stayed with them throughout her life – every card was addressed to them by that nickname.

She became a football fan and her favorite team was the Chicago Bears. In the winter she wore a Chicago Bear jacket and scarf, her license plate on her car reads RR Bears, she attended Bear/Packer games at Lambeau field on the 50 yard line, went to Chicago Bear training camps when they were in Platteville, WI.

Nancy loved the following, Diet Coke, going fishing with her husband and late father-in-law Dick Shady, going to Oneida Casino to play bingo, planting and maintaining her flower beds, dancing with her family, watching her neighbor “the little farmer”(Jason Smith) drive up and down the road with his tractor, going next door to the neighbors (Sue and Paul) to have a cigarette and beverage, writing long messages in cards that she would give friends and family, decorating her house on the inside and outside for each season of the year, watching the WI sports teams (Bucks, Brewers, and Badgers) play on TV and yell or cheer, going to her grandchildren’s sports events and concerts, and talking to total strangers about her family and giving them a taste of her beautiful personality.

Nancy entertained her husband daily with her feisty personality and her little stubborn streaks and those little traits just made us all love her that much more. Her feisty energy helped her to give cancer the backseat until she could celebrate 61 years with her loving husband on February 4, 2022, and her 82nd birthday on February 9, 2022.

She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Gerry; two children, son, Tim (Susie) Shady of Oakfield and their children, Dan (fiancée Kim Zalavy) Shady and their children, Piper, Vivian, Bernadette, and Josephine, of Oakfield, Mitchell (Kaytlin) Shady and their children, Logan and Jackson of North Fond du Lac, Brett (Kayla) Shady of Oakfield; daughter, Tammy (Jim) Wiese of Oakfield and their children, Tiffany (Zack) Parker and their twin daughters, Addison and Charlotte of Oakfield, Dillon Wiese of Fond du Lac. She is further survived by her brother, Jim (Jelaine) Schmitz; her brothers-in-law, Rudolph “Butch” (Carole) Shady and Roger (Mary Etta) Shady; and very special neighbors, Paul and Sue Uttendorfer. She also has many nieces, nephews, and wonderful friends.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Doris Schmitz; and her in-laws, Melvin “Dick” and Mabel Shady.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, February 19, 2022 at 11:00 am at Holy Family Church, 271 Fourth Street Way in Fond du Lac. The family will greet relatives and friends from 9:00 am until time of service.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established in Nancy’s name.



A special thank you to: Heather Vande Kolk, mom’s assigned nurse through Hospice. Heather made Nancy smile on numerous occasions with her genuine show of love, compassion, and her understanding Nancy’s fear of the unknown aspects of the disease. The wonderful staff at the Hospice Home of Hope who provided amazing care and attention to both Nancy and her family during her end of life journey. The Doctors, Mary Schultz and Dan Johnson of the SSM Health Fond du Lac Regional Clinic who displayed total professionalism of genuine concern, love and care to Nancy and her family during a time of such devastating news. The physician’s staff members provided the assistance when it was most needed.



Services are in the care of Uecker-Witt Funeral Home, 524 North Park Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI, 54935. Additional information and guestbook can be found at ueckerwitt.com