Nancy Jo Bull Bresenham

Nancy Jo (Bull) Bresenham was born on October 17, 1940, in the East Tennessee home of her sharecropper parents, Torrance and Annie (Hipsher) Bull. After graduating from Rutledge High School at age 16, she worked for two years at Standard Knitting Mill in Knoxville while taking classes at University of Tennessee. At age 18, Nancy boarded a Greyhound bus and began a lifetime of travel. Disembarking in Oakland, California, she found work at A G E and studied part-time at Oakland City College. In 1963, after being taught to speak without a southern accent at American Airlines’ (AA) Stewardess training school in Dallas, Nancy joined AA as a stewardess based in New York City. During her flying career, Nancy was selected to fly White House press charters for Lyndon Johnson, U.S. Army infantry charters to Vietnam, and AA’s inaugural flight introducing service to Mexico. One highlight of Nancy's time as a stewardess came on the first day of her special press flights assignment, when President Johnson gave her a personal tour of Air Force One and introduced her to Lady Bird, Lynda, and Luci. Even more memorably, in 1966 Nancy met Jack Bresenham on an AA “Club 21 Service” flight from New York City to San Francisco. Nancy was flying as head stewardess; Jack was returning home to Sunnyvale, CA, from a business trip, and they estimate that they met over Kansas City about 6 ½ miles in the air.

Nancy married Jack on September 10, 1966, in San Leandro, CA, and became stepmother to Janet Lyn, then age 8. Nancy and Jack later had a daughter, Linda Jo, and a son, David Floyd. Under AA's rules in the 1960's, Nancy had to retire as a stewardess following the wedding.

Jack’s work at IBM required frequent transfers that took Nancy and the family from Sunnyvale to Putnam Valley, NY; Milan, Italy; Mt. Kisco, NY; Chapel Hill, NC; and Winchester, England. Each time the family moved, Nancy took charge of refurbishing a house that required TLC, and led the family in establishing roots in their new hometown. In addition to raising the children, Nancy took on a variety of jobs and volunteer work, becoming Mt. Kisco's first female police officer, a Brownie and Cub Scout leader in Chapel Hill, and a prolific church fundraiser, PTA member, and fixture on the competitive bridge circuit in each place she lived. She also studied at Westchester Community College in NY, where she was awarded membership in the Alpha Beta Gamma Business Honor Society.

Once the children were all out of high school, Nancy and Jack moved to Rock Hill, SC, where Jack became a Professor of Computer Science at Winthrop University. There, Nancy worked as a travel agent, served as co-chair of the Parents' Advisory Committee at Wofford College, became a Laubach literacy tutor for adults as well as a tutor for at-risk elementary schoolchildren, and served as vice president for the Women's Club. Having grown up on a farm and spent years resurrecting gardens at the various houses she and her family moved to, Nancy found particular joy taking horticultural classes from Clemson, becoming a certified Master Gardener in York County, SC, and helping others develop their own green thumbs.

 In 2011, Nancy and Jack relocated to Rio Rancho, NM. Nancy became a member of Paradise Hills United Methodist Church in Albuquerque (4700 Paradise Blvd. NW, Albuquerque) and took extension classes from New Mexico State to again become a certified Master Gardener, this time for Sandoval County, NM. Nancy encountered a number of difficult health challenges during her time in Rio Rancho, all of which she faced with grace, tenacity, and a love for life.

Nancy was predeceased by her daughter Linda, her parents Torrance and Annie Bull, her brothers George, Torrance Jr., and Dwight, and her sister Glenda Howell. Nancy is survived by her husband Jack, son David and his wife Young Jean Lee, stepdaughter Janet, sister Sherla and her husband Frank Oglesby, and brother-in-law Charlie Howell. Nancy died at home on August 5, 2021, peacefully in palliative care from Hospice of New Mexico with Jack, David, and Young Jean at her bedside. A memorial service will be held at 10:00am on Saturday August 21, 2021, at Paradise Hills United Methodist Church (4700 Paradise Blvd. NW, Albuquerque). In lieu of flowers, Nancy's family suggests a donation to the American Cancer Society, your local church, or your favorite charity.