Nancy Elizabeth Lynn King
August 17, 1964 - June 17, 2026
After a long goodbye, Nancy Elizabeth Lynn King peacefully completed her journey and left the world on the evening of June 17, 2026. She was just two months shy of her 62nd birthday.
Nancy was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on August 17, 1964, to the delight of her parents, Janet and Joe Lynn, and her five siblings: Mary Jane, Joe Jr., Marty, Mike, and Tom. With her quick sense of humor and early self-confidence, Nancy easily held her own with her older siblings. Before her first birthday, the family moved to Northridge, California, where Nancy spent her sunny childhood years.
Nancy left California to attend the University of Portland, graduating in 1986 with a degree in Communications. She chose to make Portland her home and remained there for the rest of her life. For many years she ran her own business as a recruiter, a job that allowed her to make genuine connections with a great number of people in and around the city.
She is survived by her loving husband of 35 years, Marshall King, whom she met at a Grateful Dead concert in 1988, and her two children: eldest daughter Lily and younger son Miles. Marshall has said that nurturing their children came naturally to Nancy and that it was her life’s great joy to raise them. From their children’s perspective, their parents together could not have been a better team. Every day Nancy and Marshall demonstrated to their children what love was meant to look like.
Nancy spent the final five years of her life in the memory care unit of Courtyard at Mt Tabor assisted living. As in the previous chapters of her life, she made instant friends with everybody. Her caretakers remarked on how frequently her sense of humor still brightened their day, even at the very end of her life.
She was a source of near constant joy for all who were lucky enough to know her.
A private celebration of her life will be held close to her birthday in August.
In Nancy’s honor, the family asks that donations be made to Rose Haven Women’s Shelter.