Longtime Genoan leaves a lasting legacy

A celebration of life for longtime Genoa resident Nancy Miluck is 1 p.m. Sunday at the Genoa Community Church.

I was stunned on Tuesday to learn that Nancy, whom I'd talked to just a week before, had died. Nancy was a regular caller to discuss issues facing the town.

Nancy lived in Genoa for 36 years, having arrived with her husband, Michael, in 1969.

She was fierce and funny in our last conversation about a bear that had been running around town on Christmas.

A newspaperwoman from back in the day, Nancy had a nose for news and was always quotable.

On Thursday, I stumbled across a photo of her and Michael in the Aug. 14, 1969, edition of The Record-Courier. They were standing in front of the home they moved from Jacks Valley Road to Genoa and were renovating. The house is one of the Valley's oldest, having been moved from Virginia City and built in 1860.

She served on pretty much every board and panel in town and was serving on the Genoa Town Board when she died.

Nancy had bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Texas, Austin, and a year of journalism courses at SMU, Dallas.

Do a Google search on Nancy and you'll find 111 entries, and nearly every one refers to her.

She's taught college classes as well as courses in junior and senior high school.

She worked reporting, editing and public relations for weekly and daily suburban and metropolitan newspapers.

Nancy and husband Michael put together "The Genoa Book" in 1970 to fund a television translator so the town could receive broadcast signals from Reno.

In the bicentennial year of 1975-76, Nancy produced "The Genoa - Carson Valley Book, Bicentennial Issue," with funds going to a match a grant to rewire and redo the Genoa Town Hall's floor.

Go to the visitors center for Lake Mead, Valley of Fire or even Berlin-Ichthyosaur and you will probably find a copy of Nancy's "Nevada History Coloring Book."

I was sitting in the December Genoa Town Board meeting when Nancy volunteered to be the events coordinator for 2006.

She worked every facet of the Candy Dance and served as chairwoman for the Genoa Historic District, the Bicentennial committee and worked on Genoa's annual Christmas fair.

Nancy was an outspoken advocate for the Nevada Open Meeting Law, calling the town board to the attention of both the media and the Nevada Attorney General's Office on occasion.

Nancy was the stuff of legend and I will miss her.

n Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 215.