Obituary of Nancy Valerie Lynn Brentnell

Nancy Valerie Lynn Brentnell 
April 26, 2021

It is with great sadness our family says goodbye to our dear Nancy. Daughter of Darlene & Bud (Roy) Brentnell, Nancy was born in Swift Current, SK on March 24, 1957. During her primary and secondary education in Swift Current, she displayed exceptional aptitude in academics and sports - track and field, cross country, tennis, basketball, and volleyball. This earned her scholarships to pursue post-secondary studies in Saskatoon at the University of Saskatchewan. While earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with honours and a Commerce Degree in Finance, she excelled as a member of the Huskie Field Hockey and Basketball teams. Nancy was awarded the Val Girsberger Trophy (1977) for her leadership, sportsmanship, athletics, and academics from the U of S.  She was a two time Canada West first team Basketball all-star and held the all time Huskie scoring record for 25 years (a little trivia, Nancy always played guard, in a time before three pointers). Nancy was inducted into the University of Saskatchewan Athletic Wall of Fame in 1994 for Basketball. Her athleticism also saw her play softball with Harmony Centres and then with Team Canada for seven years. During this time she travelled to Holland, Belgium, China, Taiwan, Japan, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the USA representing Canada. Nancy was incredibly proud to be inducted into Team Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 for her participation in the Pan Am Games (gold medal) and in 2015 inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame for Track & Field, Basketball and Softball.
Nancy began her career at SaskTel directly out of University and had been a hard-working, loyal employee for over 35 years. 
Love of animals was especially important to Nancy and a furry friend was a necessity in her home. Abbey, Fritz, Mitzy, Teaka, Nicki, Buddy and Marley were blessed to enjoy Nancy’s compassion and caring. Love of athletics extended to her dog Abbey, as they became a very connected team in dog agility training. She had a passionate interest in freshwater and saltwater aquariums which began in 2005. Nancy also enjoyed gardening, rock collecting, mind box puzzles, scuba diving, as well as collections of dragons, crystals & sculptures. She was not a culinary cook but enjoyed the taste of good food from around the world.
 
Nancy is survived by her Dad, Bud Brentnell, sisters, Tara (Basil) Hughton, Brenda (Martin Bruecker) Robinson, nephews Jamey Hughton and Jordie Hughton, niece Coral Robinson and brother-in-law Warren Robinson.
Many thanks for those who helped Nancy 'shuffle this mortal coil" Dr. K. Marushak, Dr. G.Hunter, K.  Cadieu, RUH Neurology Dept., ALS Clinic – Dr. Schellenberg and the team, Diamond House Warman and all the special care that they gave, St. Paul’s Palliative Ward and the angels who work there and Dr. M. Fenske, SaskTel Dispatchers, HOOP, CPAS and the wonderful help of all departments, also the Saskatoon Funeral Home for their thoughtful assistance.

In lieu of flowers donations to the Cure for ALS https://alssask.ca/en/donate 
or the SPCA https://www.saskatoonspca.com/supporting/donate would be greatly appreciated.

~ Please go out in nature, take a walk, enjoy the sky, and breathe deeply. Nancy would like that. ~

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
And the rains fall soft upon your leaves,
and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.