Nancie Peacocke Fadeley

                       Nancie Peacocke Fadeley July 11, 1930 - April 7, 2024 

Nancie Peacocke Fadeley lived her life in service to her community and to her state. She was an amazing Oregonian. 

Nancie Fadeley served in the Oregon State Legislature from 1971 to 1981 representing Springfield and parts of Eugene. She participated in creating laws and policy that continue to make Oregon a better place. She worked on the original bottle bill, the first prioritizing of road funds for bicycle lanes, the creation of the Willamette Greenway Corridor, early support and exploration of clean alternative energy sources like solar and geothermal, and making gasohol from garbage and grass field stubble as an alternative to burning. She chaired the House Environment and Land Use Committee which crafted and refined Oregon’s original forward-looking planning law, Senate Bill 100. She wrote the nation’s first displaced homemaker legislation and was a co-founder of the Older Women’s League, a national political action group supporting older women’s issues. 

After her years in the legislature, Nancie served as director of public affairs for the then-NPR-affiliate KWAX. She worked after that as Assistant to the Provost at the University of Oregon. While in that role she was honored as Volunteer of the Year by United Way of Lane County, one of many special recognitions. Nancie received the Annabel Kitzhaber Education and Advocacy Award from the Lane County League of Women Voters in 2021. 

Always a journalist, Nancie wrote on Oregon history, environmental issues, and local politics. Her annual “Mother’s Day” women’s advocacy column ran in the Register-Guard for many years. 

Nancie was born in Missouri. Being a PK or ”Preacher’s kid”, meant relocating every few years to different small towns with names like Shelbina and Rockport. After graduating from Central College, she married Edward Norman Fadeley and they moved together to Eugene so he could attend Law School at the University of Oregon. Nancie earned a Masters Degree in Journalism from UO after teaching at Lincoln Elementary School to support the family during the law school years. She had a lifelong relationship with her Methodist roots and was an active member of her church community. She served for many years on the National Board for Archives and History for the United Methodist Church. 

Nancie loved her dogs; Snoopy, Fala, Nic, Sasha, Lady, Cindy Lou, and Dexter. She is survived by her senior rescue dog, Agatha. As one last bit of advocacy, Nancie urges you to provide for your pets should you outlive them, through Greenhill Humane Society or other like-minded non-profits. 

Nancie was predeceased by her parents, The Reverend Charles Sidney Peacocke and Nannette Wood Peacocke, and her two brothers Jack (Ivan Lee) and Sid (Sidney). She is survived by her son Charles and his wife Betty of Sisters Oregon, and her daughter Shira of Eugene. She is also survived by her longtime partner and friend Karl Nestvold, his children Ruth, Karen and David, and their children and grandchildren. She is remembered fondly by countless friends and colleagues, and will be missed by all who knew her. 

There is so much more to tell. Nancie’s memorial celebration of life will be, July 11 at 2 pm, at the Eugene First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive Street. Memorial gifts can be made to 1000 Friends of Oregon, Food for Lane County, or the Eugene First United Methodist Church. 

Like the state she loved, Nancie flew with her own wings.