William J. 'Bill' Nance, 54

William J. "Bill" Nance, 54, died Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005, in Seattle, Wash.

He was born on the Fourth of July, 1951, to Richard and Marjorie Nance.

He grew up mainly in the Northeast and in California on many military bases as his father was a pilot in the United States Air Force.

His family returned to Napa, Calif., in 1968, where he attended school and graduated from Napa High School in 1969.

He attended Napa Valley College.

Bill received training as a respiratory therapist and worked at Queen of the Valley Hospital for five years.

While working in the intensive care unit, he met Debbie Brisbon.

They married and moved to Sandpoint, Idaho, in 1978. Here they enjoyed life and raised two children on the Sunnyside Peninsula on Lake Pend Oreille.

Bill was employed at Bonner General Hospital as a respiratory care practitioner for 22 years, where he cared for and touched the lives of many people in the Sandpoint community.

He enjoyed everything about boats, from restoring them and sailing with his family and friends to participating in sailing regattas.

In 2000, he moved to Seattle, where he was employed by Swedish Medical Center at the Ballard Campus.

He lived in the Fremont area of Seattle on his beautiful Hans Christian sailboat. He enjoyed Lake Union and the many activities associated with the area.

Bill lived in Kauai for a year. He enjoyed travel with his family to Maui and Mexico.

Bill loved camping, hiking, skiing, sailing and anything to do with boats.

He had a great concern for the environment as he loved the outdoors.

He was preceded in death by his father, Richard Nance.

He is survived by his mother, Marjorie Nance of Sandpoint; a daughter, Lindsay Shea Nance of Seattle; a son, Jordan Cooper Nance of Sandpoint; his former wife and best friend, Debbie Nance of Sandpoint; a sister, Betty (John) Wood of Sandpoint; a niece, Jenny (Matt) Strong of Kanab, Utah; a nephew, Art (Kristin) Reid and their children, Kenneth and Rebecca, of Sandpoint; and a very special friend, Lynn Walsh of Portland, Ore.

A celebration of his life is planned soon in the Sandpoint area and will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research, 1100 Peninsula Blvd, Hewlett, N.Y., 11557 or www.virtualtrials.com.