Our loving mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and friend, Nancy Thomas Nalder, passed away peacefully on October 30, 2024, in Brigham City, Utah, after a long and courageous battle with multiple sclerosis and more recently cancer. Born on March 6, 1944, in Malad, Idaho, to Stanley and Erma Peterson Thomas, she was the eldest of eight children. Nancy grew up in Malad where she was often found helping her mother at home or working beside her father at the family owned grocery store. She graduated from Malad High School in 1962 and Brigham Young University in 1966, earning an elementary education degree. She worked as a full-time and substitute teacher for over 25 years. In 1967, she married her high school sweetheart and love of her life, Lynn Nalder, of Holbrook, Idaho, and son of Vernal and Evelyn Nalder. Together they raised five children over the years in Shelley, Blackfoot, Malad, and Pocatello, Idaho. 

Following Lynn’s passing from coronary heart disease at the young age of 42, she took on the immense challenge of raising her children as a widowed mother, demonstrating strength, perseverance, and a fiercely positive attitude every day of her life. Her faith and love for her family were her guiding anchors and the steadfast bond that held everything together, often through life’s most challenging moments. While she resided in many different places throughout her life, her heart always remained in Malad where she maintained many lifelong friendships. 

After Nancy’s children were grown, she moved to Salt Lake City and devoted her life to serving in various volunteer church assignments, including genealogy, managing membership records, and assisting as a phone operator in the Salt Lake Temple. Her commitment and love for her faith touched the lives of many and reflected her deep dedication to service. She enjoyed living at the Gateway Condos for 15 years in downtown Salt Lake City where she had access to the underground tunnels between her home and the Church Office Building. She would occasionally hitch a ride on the golf transport carts with friends and church leaders living in her building, including President Gordon B. Hinkley. She was a daily regular at the Nauvoo Cafe in the nearby Joseph Smith Building. 

When her health deteriorated in 2017, Nancy moved to The Gables assisted living community in Brigham City where for the past seven years she was dearly loved by the staff and other residents who became like family. A faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she held her faith close and inspired others with her warmth, kindness, sense of humor and enduring optimism. 

She is survived by her children: Sherlyn (Dennis) Jenkins, Dover, MA; Layne Nalder, Pocatello, ID; Lynette (Dale) Green, Perry, UT; Lynisa (Chad) Peck, West Jordan, UT; and Dustan (Morgan) Nalder, Meridian, ID. She is also survived by four siblings: Ann (Jon) Ward, Reno, NV; Tim (Gretchen) Thomas, Ketchum, ID; Connie (Doug) Albrechtsen, Providence, UT; and Ned (Cherlynn) Thomas, Henderson, NV. Nancy was preceded in death by her husband Lynn Nalder; parents, Erma and Stanley Thomas; and three brothers: David Thomas, Dennis Thomas, and Marvin Thomas. She has 20 grandchildren and one great granddaughter. 

We are forever grateful to The Gables Assisted Living and Aegis Home Health and Hospice for their tender care. 

Funeral services will be held Friday, November 8, 2024, 12:00 p.m. at the historic Malad Second Ward Tabernacle, 20 South 100 West, Malad, Idaho. A viewing will be held in Malad on Thursday, November 7, 2024, 7:00-8:00 p.m. at the Horsley Funeral Home, 132 West 300 North, and again prior to the funeral service from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Burial will be at the Holbrook, Idaho Cemetery.