Nancy I. Sitz was born December 1, 1954, in Ontario, Oregon, daughter of F. Norman Sitz and Ellen (Catterson) Sitz. The fourth child, she was preceded in birth by siblings W. Norman (Bill), Laura, and John. She died at home with metastatic cancer on December 2, 2020.
Nancy grew up in Ontario. After graduating from high school, she moved to Eugene, Oregon where she attended the University of Oregon. Later, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Antioch College in Ohio.
By then she was going by the name Yasha. She trekked in Nepal, lived in India and traveled through England, Scotland, Israel, and Turkey before moving back to Eugene, where she worked mostly as a caregiver for many years.
Yasha loved the outdoors. Her lifelong dream was to live simply in a cabin in the woods. She was a gifted guitarist, studying music at Lane Community College, composing and playing music in a variety of venues throughout her adult life.
In the early 2000s she gave up her job, home, and friends in Eugene to become the family hero – she moved to her parents’ home in Ontario to care for her ailing mother. She lovingly attended her until Ellen’s death in 2003. She then stayed on to keep her father company and later to care for him when his strength declined.
After Norman passed away in 2015, Yasha continued to live in Ontario, still dreaming of a cabin in the woods. She composed and played music with many Boise friends, loving their annual music gathering in the mountains above Idaho City.
In 2018, Yasha developed cancer before her dream to relocate came to fruition, and the cancer eventually metastasized. Her sister, Laura, spent three months with Yasha in the late summer and early fall of 2020. They laughed and loved together while compiling family photos and family histories to distribute to Sitz and Catterson relatives. Because of Yasha’s zeal, both families now possess many treasured memories.
Nancy Yasha Sitz was kind-hearted, generous, loving, and had an inventive mind and great sense of humor. She and her brother, John, wrote and filmed funny home movies in their youth, entertaining the family with their creativity.
She was endlessly patient and loving with her nieces and nephews who greatly adored her. Those who knew her in later years loved her wit and delightful laugh. Even though she never attained a cabin in the woods, she planted pine trees and wildflowers around her home, creating a landscape of beauty.
She found her greatest peace and joy in nature. She was loved by many. She is greatly missed.