Nancy Waidtlow: Dec. 22, 1940–Dec. 23, 2025
Remembering Her Life, Recognizing Her Impact
Words will never really be sufficient to describe the impact on our community, and on our world as a whole, of our beloved Nancy Waidtlow. All of us here in this little corner of the world that we call Fresno have been enriched by the many beneficial things Nancy did for others, and, indeed, by the way she lived her life—a model life, very worth emulating.
Hers was a life of service—serving the causes of equality, justice, peace and, above all, kindness—from an early age, it turns out.
She started working for equality for women in junior high and high school in Salinas, where she became the first and only female in some previously all-boy programs—including joining the formerly all-male tumbling team at Salinas High. This was in the early and middle 1950s, before it became fashionable to do such things.
Later, as part of her teacher training, she was an aide in a welding class at Irwin Junior High in West Fresno, helping to teach young girls how to arc weld, often considered a male-only occupation.
Her commitment to social justice also goes way back. In June 1964, here in Fresno, she marched with Martin Luther King Jr., from Echo Street to Ratcliffe Stadium, in support of racial justice.
She also had a strong commitment to economic justice. In the early 1970s, she went to work for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers (UFW) at their clinic in Sanger, a period that she described as “a delightful nine months.”
In 2011, she joined the Occupy Movement, even traveling to D.C. to join Occupy D.C. in October of that year. It was her work with Occupy that really got her interested in homeless issues, and she joined the Firewood Brigade at that time helping some homeless people keep themselves warm. Yet, she knew that was not enough. More about her work with the homeless later.
She was also a strong peace activist for more than 50 years. She became a counter-recruiter, helping to keep young people out of the military.
She joined the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) early in her stay in Fresno, and in 1974 she represented WILPF Fresno, along with June Loring, at the World Peace Congress in Moscow. Remember, this was at the height of the Cold War, and people who went to Russia were regarded with suspicion.
She was a regular presence at Peace Fresno events both at the old peace corner (the intersection of Blackstone and Shaw avenues) and the current one (the intersection of Blackstone and Nees avenues).
Behind all these endeavors was her commitment to kindness. For her, being kind meant supporting equality for all, supporting racial and economic justice and constantly working to promote peace over war.
Kindness was also behind her compassion for the homeless. When she witnessed, firsthand, how the City of Fresno treated homeless people when they were evicting them from their encampments, she just couldn’t stand it. She resolved to do something about it.
She attended some meetings with others working on the problem, but she did not want to just sit and talk about it. She wanted action, and she made it happen. After consulting with architect Arthur Dyson about a location, Nancy selected a property on West Dakota Avenue and went to work on what is now known as the Dakota EcoGarden (DEG).
In her mind, it was obvious what needed to be done to address homelessness. People who were unhoused needed some kind of housing right away so that they could get their lives back on track. With a safe, secure place to stay, people could start doing job searches and housing searches. They could work on resolving medical and/or addiction issues, even pursue an education.
She saw no reason why this would have to cost millions and millions of dollars. She had heard of safe and legal campgrounds, and adopted that idea as a model. She built upon the model to go beyond just a campground, but a community, a village of people with similar issues working with one another to advance their lives in a positive direction. And she believed that all of this could be done at a relatively low cost and in an environmentally sustainable manner.
In its first 12 years of operation, DEG has housed more than 160 otherwise unhoused people, many of whom were able to take advantage of their newly acquired stability to move their lives forward. They used their stays at DEG to work on their issues and climb out of the abyss in which they found themselves.
In August 2023, on the occasion of DEG’s 10th anniversary, the City of Fresno honored Nancy at a City Council meeting and issued a proclamation declaring Aug. 10, 2023, as Dakota EcoGarden Day in the City of Fresno. That was one of many awards she received in her lifetime for her amazing life’s work.
Of course, Nancy’s life involved much more than her social activism. She was a great fan of folk music, and joined the Fresno Folklore Society (FFS) early on. She was a regular at FFS events and at the annual campout at Sweet’s Mill.
Her love of music got her into the Raging Grannies, which was a way of incorporating music into her activism. She also had a circle of singing friends that would gather frequently to sing together, often at Nancy’s house. Music was a big part of her life, and a rewarding part.
Besides teaching elementary school for more than 20 years, she taught circus classes for kids on the side, just for the fun of it. Remember, she went into tumbling back in high school, breaking a gender barrier in the process.
Before teaching, she had worked for a while in the County Department of Social Services. Nancy got around, and turned up in all sorts of places. She not only lived a life of service to others, but she had fun doing it. Way to go, Nancy.
Everyone misses Nancy, and our community is not the same with her gone. But our community has been forever changed, changed for the better, by the many wonderful things Nancy did.
