Nancy Carolyn (Griffith) Huntington, 80, passed away on Friday, September 22, 2023, at her lake house in Eureka, Kansas. Nancy was born December 13, 1942, at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas.
Her first 14 years, she lived in Wichita, where her dad built houses with his brother. In the spring of 1956, her family moved to Yates Center, Kansas. Nancy was active in Jobs Daughters and in 4-H. It was at 4-H Roundup, that she met her husband John in the spring of 1959.
Nancy graduated from Yates Center High School in 1960. While in High School she worked as a waitress the Woodies and then at Baker Drug Store. She attended Chanute Junior College before attending Emporia State, majoring in Elementary Education.
John and Nancy were united in marriage on June 9, 1963. To this union two sons were born, John Jr. and Dwight.
Nancy and John were active in the Jaycee’s and Janes plus the Young Farmers and Ranchers through Farm Bureau. Nancy helped John with their cattle operation, then she was the cashier for John when he started auctioneering before they purchased the Auction House in 1982 and continued that role as well as making sure everything was setup correctly before each auction, until their last auction in October of 2014.
In 1970, Nancy went back to Emporia State to finish her teaching degree in Elementary Education. After graduation in 1971, she worked 3 1/2 years in the Greenwood County welfare office. Her time there, she felt helped make her a better 1st grade teacher. In the fall of 1975, Nancy began teaching first grade at Random School for 10 years. After Random School was closed, she spent her final 15 years at Mulberry before retiring in the spring of 2000.
In the early 1970s, Nancy helped her husband John study for his Kansas real estate license and then got her license too. It was not uncommon for her to teach all day and be showing houses after school, then head to the auction house to start setting up for the next auction. Nancy enjoyed painting and was able to find time in the 1970s to put paint to canvas. She enjoyed collecting and keeping family heirlooms of her and John’s family. Her favorite thing to collect was blue glassware.
Nancy was active in her son’s 4-H club, the Upper Fall River Jayhawkers. Nancy was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma, Alteration, and the Eureka Lake Red Hatters. She was a member of and served as President of The Garden Club, Greenwood County Cattle Women and Christ Lutheran Church Council.
Nancy and John loved to travel. But their favorite place to go was up to Baldwin City to see their grandchildren. They didn’t miss very many of their activities even though they were 2 hours away.
She enjoyed their house at Eureka Lake, and you could find Nancy and John cruising around the lake nearly every night in the summer on their pontoon boat and offering rides to their lake neighbors and friends. The last few years, Nancy and John moved to Lawrence where they became members of the Lawrence Breakfast Optimist Club.
Nancy leaves behind two sons, John Huntington, Jr. and his wife, Alejandra Guzman Carrasco of Lawrence; and Dwight Huntington and his wife, Teresa Yribarren of Eureka; grandchildren, Samantha Huntington and Benjamin Huntington, both of Kansas City; plus her two extra grandchildren, Eugene and Alejandra Galvez Guzman of Mexico City; sister, Joyce and husband, Alan Howard of Haven, Kansas; niece, Valinda and husband, Danny Koehn of Kansas City; nephew, Vince and wife, Teri Burghart of Colwich, Kansas; nephew, Justin and wife, Maretta Huntington of Emporia, Kansas; niece, Donelda and husband, Mark Perkins of Eureka; niece, Heather and husband, Cory Fuesz of Eureka; sisters-in-law, Irlene and Dixie Huntington of Eureka; godson, Trever Kemp of Rosalia, Kansas; plus more than 625 former 1st grade students which she always called ‘her kids.’ Nancy considered, Tiya Tonn Kemp, Beth Ireland Seifried, and Becky Ware Simpson as the daughters she never had.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John; parents Darrol and Vanita Griffith; mother-in-law Margaret Huntington; and her brothers-in-law, Clint and Don Huntington.
Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 7, 2023, at Christ Lutheran Church in Eureka, with Rev. Tim Meyer of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Cheney officiating. Private inurnment will take place at a later date at the Upper Fall River Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to Christ Lutheran Church. Contributions may be sent in care of Koup Family Funeral Home, PO Box 595, Eureka KS 67045, which is overseeing arrangements. Condolences may be left for the family online, at koupfunerals.com.
