Nancy J. Plunkett

Nancy J. Plunkett October 21, 1954, to July 31, 2018

Nancy was born in Kansas City, Missouri on October 21, 1954, to Thomas and Margaret Plunkett.  She lived in the Kansas City Area her entire life.  She graduated from Apache Elementary School, Hillcrest Middle School, Shawnee Mission West High School, and Kansas University.   Nancy was a secondary special education teacher for the Shawnee Mission Public School district for 24 years and an instructor for CLEAR at The Johnson County Community College since 2012.  Her community service included Disability Mentoring Day and serving on the board of The Whole Person where she received board member of the year.  She was on the Kansas Youth Leadership Forum and served on their interview team.  Nancy was awarded a $5,000 grant for The Greenhouse Project:  Paving the Way for Entrepreneurial Education and the Green Collar work Force from the Sprint Foundation.  With that grant, she and her students grew micro-greens for the district's bistro and other upscale restaurants.  She received Educator of the year from the Community Disability Network and taught study skills to secondary students with learning disabilities at the American School of Asuncion in Paraguay, South America.  She was a facilitator and adviser to People First of Johnson County, a self-advocacy organization for adults with developmental disabilities for 9 years.

She leaves behind her sister Meg Groff Ladyman, five nieces, one nephew, 2 great-nephews, and 1 great-niece and her beloved dog Moses.  She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Penny Johnson, and her maternal and paternal grandparents.

A Memorial Service will be held from 4:30-5:30 p.m., Saturday, August 18th, at the Country Club Christian Church Chapel, 6101 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64113.  The family will receive guests from 5:30-6:00 following the service.  At Nancy's request, all family and friends are invited to go dancing to her favorite band (the Crumpletons) from 7:00-10:00 pm at the Oread Hotel in Lawrence, Ks.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Nancy's Kids to fund a new special education room for special needs children at New Life Orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.  Nancy was such a champion for children and adults with disabilities that we know she would be so honored to be a part of these kiddos getting special education for the first time in their lives!  The website to contribute is gofundme.com/nancy039s-kids however, there will also be a basket at the service if you would like to contribute an item, book, educational toy, or file folder activity.