Nancy Lewis

Nancy Lewis: insatiable scholar and exacting writer; loving wife and doting mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother; faithful friend; passionate participant in community affairs; and force to be reckoned with, died peacefully at her Santa Fe home after a long illness on March 16, 2022, at the age of 77.

Nancy was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 2, 1945, to Esther and Charles Hammack. She attended the University of Utah where she earned her bachelor’s and master's degrees in anthropology and conducted field work with the Navajos in Arizona and Paiutes in Idaho. She earned her doctorate in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts in 1974 by studying and living with the Carib Indians on the Caribbean Island of Dominica. Her academic career took her to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, the University of Alabama in Birmingham, and eventually to University of Arkansas in Fayetteville where she taught classes in cultural anthropology.

In the early 1980s, Nancy moved to Santa Fe and entered public service at the District Attorney’s office during the New Mexico State Penitentiary riot prosecutions. After that she worked at the Santa Fe County Municipal Court where she coordinated the DWI program. It was during her time at the Municipal Court that she compiled and analyzed behavioral data from drunk driving arrests and subsequently published the study that led to the 1998 closure of drive-up liquor windows in New Mexico.

Nancy eventually returned to her academic roots at the School for Advanced Research (SAR) where she was the Director of Scholar Programs for 13 years. She retired in 2011 but continued at SAR as a Scholar-in-Residence until her death. She was passionate about the history of SAR and the estate in which it resides: El Delirio. She immersed herself in researching topics that linked SAR and the history of New Mexico. This research resulted in three books: A Peculiar Alchemy: A Centennial History of the School for Advanced Research (co-authored), Chasing the Cure in New Mexico: Tuberculosis and the Quest for Health, and the forthcoming The Hounds of El Delirio: New Mexico and the Dogs of World War II. She also frequently wrote articles and gave presentations on a variety of topics for local publications and organizations.

In addition to her scholarly activities, Nancy served numerous organizations and committees including Santa Fe’s Public Safety Committee, the Historical Society of New Mexico, and the Historic Santa Fe Foundation. She was a fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology. She taught Sunday school classes at St. John’s United Methodist Church on a range of subjects including the history of the Methodist Church in New Mexico. Her many social groups include her esteemed tea group which has been meeting regularly for over 20 years, the Green Chile Cheeseburger Club which promotes the scholarly consumption of this local delicacy, and she was an invited member of the 130-year-old Fifteen Club.

Nancy will be remembered by her family, friends, and colleagues for her humor, wit, and clarity of thought, even in the most trying times.

Nancy is survived by her husband Paul of Santa Fe; brother Laurens (Larry) and his wife Nancy of Santa Fe; daughter Charlotte of Newport, NC; son Jonathan and his wife Aurore of Leiden, Netherlands; granddaughters Sarah of Onancock, VA and Taylor of Newport, NC; great-granddaughter Oakley of Onancock, VA; and Maine Coon cat Madam Millie of Santa Fe.

A memorial will be held at St. John’s United Methodist Church on Thursday, March 24th at 10:00 AM followed by grave-side ceremony at Memorial Gardens at 11:30 AM.