Nancy Elizabeth Golden Perkins died peacefully on July 31 with family and friends by her side. A Celebration of Life for Nancy will take place Sunday, August 30, at the Union Pacific Depot, 402 N 2nd Street in North Lawrence, from 3 to 6 pm. Guests will be invited to share their remembrances of Nancy 4:00 to 4:30 pm.
Nancy is survived by her spouse, Sam Perkins, daughters Harri (Leawood) and Clara (Lawrence), her sister Gail Golden (Sun City, AZ), her cousin Nancy Young (Olympia, WA) her cousin-in-law Nancy Draffkorn (Janesville, WI), and many friends. She was preceded in death by her beloved brother, Robert Arnold Golden (1951-1994), her cousin, Joseph Arnold Draffkorn (1942-2023), her mother Bette (Jacobs) Golden (1926-2019), and her father, George Arnold Golden (1915-1997).
Nancy was born on August 5, 1950 in Glen Ridge, NJ. Her family moved when she was six months old to Seattle, WA, where her brother was born August 6, 1951. Subsequent moves with her family were to Bellevue, WA and then to Northbrook, IL prior to her senior year in high school. After graduation she moved to Lawrence to attend the University of Kansas.
Nancy learned from her mother to sew clothes and to swim and ski. She later became a strong runner, swimmer and cyclist. Nancy pursued varied interests, always with enthusiasm and a bent toward service. She served as a referee at bike races. She loved birdwatching, gardening and making tofu with friends. She volunteered at The Willow Domestic Violence Center. She sang with the First Methodist Church choir as an undergraduate at KU. She performed the bell chant at Kansas Zen Center, where she was given the Buddhist name Dae Ja. She volunteered at Saint John the Evangelist Church. She loved being mom to Harri and Clara.
A central theme of Nancy’s life was her love of dogs. When she was young, she convinced her dad to bring home a family dog, Happy. After graduating from KU, she had two bloodhounds that she took to dog shows. She helped organize dog shows and volunteered at the Lawrence Humane Society. Dogs she adopted include her Irish wolfhounds Max and Toby, labradoodle Lucy, and golden retriever mix Goldie.
At the University of Kansas, Nancy earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Drama in 1973. After graduating, she followed career paths in teaching and watchmaking. She taught at Hilltop Child Development Center in the Gold Room, where she truly loved her work with children, and inspired her assistants in their own teaching careers. She was beloved by her pre-school students, many of whom are now having children of their own. She returned to KU in 1985 to combine her classroom work with graduate studies. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Human Development in 1991, and she wrote her thesis on “A use of modeling and role playing to teach assertiveness against peer aggression in four- and five-year-old children.” She continued integrating her classroom work with studies at KU in Special Education for teaching children with special needs. She learned American Sign Language to better serve her children at Hilltop.
Nancy’s career in watchmaking began as an apprentice, repairing watches for Horace Masden in downtown Lawrence. She later ran her own business, Golden Watch Repair, about which she was interviewed on local public television.
Nancy and Sam married on January 13, 2001. They raised daughters Harri (b. Aug 8, 2003) and Clara (b. Jul 20, 2010). Nancy cherished family time, whether it was making crafts and meals at home, reading books to Harri and Clara, bike rides and walks in the neighborhood, attending school activities like band and choir, or regular family trips to enjoy hiking, bicycling and swimming.
Suggested donations in Nancy’s honor are to The Willow Domestic Violence Center at willowdvcenter.org, Lawrence Humane Society at lawrencehumane.org, and to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.
What a life and what a legacy. Such an amazing human. Was fortunate to have known and been friends. Cherish the amazing memories she left. So very sorry.
Nancy was a close friend and neighbor of mine for several years decades ago. I enjoyed many meals she prepared and admired her creativity and gentle ways. Michele Minnis and I offer sincere condolences to her family and friends, and we thank Sam for facilitating our visits with Nancy in recent years.
Nancy was my son’s teacher at Hilltop over 20 years ago. She was a bright light and I have such fond memories of her. She was one of a kind. Sending peace to her family.
I met Nancy only once, when she attended Clyde Chapmans Celebration of Life. I wish you all peace.
Our son (now 45) was one of the many children lucky to have Nancy as a teacher at Hilltop. To say that she was extraordinary does not come close enough. She loved her kids and her kids loved her. And we loved her. We also were lucky to know her through the Zen center. She was a very special person, one of those whose simple presence made people feel better. Deep condolences to Sam, Harri, and Clara.
God bless Nancy. Miss you all. I be there as soon as God says, miss everyone from our little family.
God bless you Nancy.
Nancy, Sam and the girls impacted my life in 2025 for a number of reasons. I knew Sam from past years as a Velotek bike team member. Sam had walked into a social group w Nancy wearing her purple hat…I smiled. Nancy and I connected quickly with our early childhood backgrounds and love of young children. We would use our sign language skills to bring on a fun moment or sing You are my sunshine that would warm our hearts. We enjoyed walks in nature and talking about our dogs. For some reason Nancy preferred to call me Sue which I ran with but meant so much to her. When I walked into the room Nancy was always so appreciative of my smiles and demeanor. She loved to be silly and light hearted. I respect the time that I knew her, although very short in the grand scheme of her life span. Take care Nancy-I know you are at peace and beginning your new chapter. Love-MK.
Nancy was a superb teacher in the late 1970s and early 80s. Both my daughters had Nancy at Hilltop Child Center when it was right on KU campus across from the Union, and they loved her. So did we. It was Hilltop’s heyday. As a teacher, her kindness and understanding made the children feel they were both heard and appreciated. All the Hilltop rules, like you have to take a bite of everything but don’t have to finish what you don’t like, became our family dining rule. There was a respect for staff and students that permeated Hilltop. Joan Reiber was the director of Hilltop, and I know she depended on Nancy and her colleagues to teach, supervise, and direct children traffic with efficiency and humor. And Nancy did all that and more. I don’t know in what direction Nancy’s life went after Hilltop, but I am sure she was successful and appreciated and loved by her family and friends.
Our daughters, Emily and Mollie (now all grown up with their own families), expressed their gratefulness to Nancy and their condolences to her family.