Nancy Hein

Nancy Jo Hein, age 70, of Fort Collins, Colorado, passed from this life on November 11, 2022, at her home. Nancy was born in Beckley, West Virginia on December 16, 1951, to parents Donald and Aleen Rupert. The family relocated shortly after, living in Texas, New Mexico, and finally settling in Colorado in 1960. Nancy graduated from Highland High School in Thornton, Colorado in 1970. Nancy was married in 1971 to her high school sweetheart, Brad Hein, and they had 3 children together. After earning her Associate Degree from the University of Colorado, she worked as an X-Ray Technologist at Porter Memorial Hospital in Denver, Colorado. In the 80’s the family relocated to Greeley, Colorado, where she worked at the Greeley X-Ray Clinic. Fort Collins became home in 1991, where she spent the rest of her career as an MRI Technologist in the Poudre Valley Hospital System and finally at the Harmony Imaging Center, until she retired in 2021. Thanks to her green thumb, beautiful plants and flowers thrived in Nancy’s home and her garden. She was humble about it and would say she did nothing special. She just, “dug a hole and planted it.” She loved to take walks with her friends every Saturday, after which they would have breakfast together, unabashedly undoing their hard work. They even walked a marathon several years ago. In more recent years, Nancy took an interest in making pottery and spent many afternoons at the Fort Collins Pottery Studio and enjoyed giving her beautiful works to family and friends. She also loved a good road trip south to Santa Fe or Texas or wherever the road took her. She and her siblings would often travel home to West Virginia to drive the state in search of family history and good food. Her grandchildren, all boys, were a source of great delight and amusement to her. She was very proud of each of them. Colleagues remember Nancy’s kindness, mentorship, hard work, and deep knowledge of their field. She was a leader and friend to them. Friends and family remember how peaceful and sweet she was, while also acknowledging her incredible inner strength and resolve, which could never be discounted or ignored. She had a certain lilt in her voice that cheered those around her and a pep in her step that reflected her energy. Never weary, she embraced the motto, “Carpe Diem” (Seize the Day) and truly lived it. Nancy is survived by her children, Jeremy (Carla) Hein, Jennifer (Thane) Gorek and Jordan Hein; grandchildren, Talvin, Hayden, Ash, Emerson, and Elliott; siblings, Susan (Fred) Mazzotti and Andy Rupert; and many extended family and friends who will miss her dearly. She was preceded in death by her parents Donald and Aleen Rupert and her husband Brad Lee Hein. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am, Monday, November 28, 2022, at the First United Methodist Church of Fort Collins with a reception to follow at Windsong Estate Event Center in Severance, CO. Donations in her memory may be made to Brent’s Place, https://www.brentsplace.org/give. Flowers are also welcome.