Nancy Jo Holbert passed away Feb. 10, 2026 in Redmond, at 77 years old, choosing medical assistance in dying. 

She was born in Burns, on Dec. 11, 1948 to A.A. “Bill” and Donna (Reed) Hurlburt. She grew up on the Hurlburt family ranch out near the historic Double-O, attending the single room school house in the area at the time (which she started early in order to help make the student count enough to keep the school open that year). 

She was a brownie, a girl scout, and an active participant in 4-H activities through high school. She graduated from Burns High School in 1966, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from University of Dayton in Ohio in 1971. She did social work for the State of Oregon before a brief and unfortunate marriage in 1981, with the fortunate result of her first son, Brett in 1982. She chose to have a second child by artificial insemination, resulting in her second son, Curtis, in 1986, who was delivered in Bend, as local doctors would not provide care. 

She raised both boys on her own, landing a job as the IT administrator for W.J. Hoyt’s cattle company. Exiting before Hoyt’s infamous business end, she worked a variety of jobs to raise her kids during this hard time, eventually landing back at the State of Oregon as an administrator at the short-lived Archive Center. 

After both her sons graduated high school and the Archive Center was closed, she moved to Keizer, Ore., where she achieved her Masters in Counseling from Capella University and retired from the State. She provided volunteer counseling services to the elderly in the Salem area for several years, and eventually moved to Redmond in 2024, as her mobility declined. 

Nancy loved cats – owning a dozen or so throughout her life – she was also skilled at craft work, having made several dresses for herself during her lifetime, including at least one purple ribbon winner in her teen years and her own wedding dress.

She endured multiple sclerosis for over 30 years, slowly losing mobility of her limbs over the last half of her life. Nancy loved family gatherings and musicals, could nearly always figure out another way of doing something, and always felt if a bad result was worth complaining about, a good result was also worth being grateful for. 

She was predeceased by her mother, father, and sister, (Mary) Kay. She is survived by her two sons and daughters-in-law: Brett and Melanie and Curtis and Kanette; three grandchildren: Lauren, Eloise, and Arlo; two brothers: Jim and Steve; nephew, Bill; nieces, Kathi, Jenni, Lauri, and Joanna; sisters-in-law, Susan and Audrey; and cousins, Jean, Carl, Todd, and Alvin. A celebration of life will be held in the summer of 2026 in Redmond.