Nancy Beth Jackson

Nancy B. Jackson died January 3 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was 65 years old.

Nancy was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on March 1, 1956, to Norman and Faith Jackson, who instilled in her a passion for fairness and justice and pride in her Seneca heritage. She attended Webster Groves High School in St. Louis and was active in a church youth group that provided her with lifelong friends and helped shape her understanding of the world. She would recall sitting around the family dinner table discussing current events and politics with her father. This led her to George Washington University in DC to study political science. However, she soon discovered an interest and aptitude for science, and became convinced she could make a bigger impact with a degree in chemistry. After earning a BS in 1979, she worked for the Division of Education of American Chemical Society (ACS) before leaving the district to pursue a graduate degree in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She earned an MS in 1986 and, after a brief diversion, a PhD in 1990.

It was during her second stint at UT that she met and married her husband, James (Jim) Miller. Working in the same group, under the same advisor, Nancy and Jim eventually developed a mutual respect and admiration. Still, it wasn’t until a friend counseled Nancy to not let their age difference stand in the way of taking that first step that their friendship blossomed into a near-perfect, but perhaps unlikely, pairing. So unexpected and discreet was their workplace relationship that when Nancy informed their mutual boss that she wouldn’t be moving away for that job after all because she was marrying Jim, he replied, “Jim who?” Nancy and Jim were married in Austin, Texas, with her father officiating in 1990.

Nancy gave birth to twin sons, Christopher and Jackson, in 1993. From the beginning, she was determined she would show her boys as much of the world, and her world, as she was able. Social norms would not stop her from taking them everywhere she could, and as small children they learned to travel and to attend business dinners and conferences all around America. The prospect of even long flights with babies or small children did not daunt her, as shown by the many long flights to Hawaii to visit her parents. Over the years, she accompanied one or both of the kids to many far-flung places including Spain, France, Italy, Greece, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Egypt. And she took several very memorable trips with them to London. When not on the road, she made sure the family always ate dinner as a group, no matter what time of day that had to be to make it happen. Nancy’s influence on her sons is deep and undeniable; one has followed her path into chemistry and ACS involvement, and the other’s interest in people and cultures and thirst for fairness and justice is surely part of her legacy.

In 1991, Nancy started a long career at Sandia National Laboratories, first as an energy researcher, then as a manager, including a period as deputy director of the International Security Center. She honored her Native heritage by serving as Sandia’s tribal government liaison for several years; working with tribal colleges to expand their science programs; helping support marginalized students in science, technology, engineering, and math; being active in the American Indian Science and Engineering Society; and serving as a trustee for Rocky Mountain College. She founded and managed the International Chemical Threat Reduction Department in Sandia’s Global Security Center and worked with the US Department of State to establish the Chemical Security Engagement Program, working to reduce the threat of the misuse of chemicals by raising awareness of chemical safety internationally. She later became the 174th Franklin Fellow at the US Department of State. Nancy came alive and thrived in the international arena, and she received the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Award for Science Diplomacy for her involvement in the program and for “developing, nurturing, and advancing careers of scientists worldwide, with a special emphasis on women scientists in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.” During her career she visited at least 47 countries the world over and accumulated millions of flight miles despite an intense fear of flying.

Throughout her career Nancy remained engaged with the ACS which, with more than 155,000 members, remains one of the world's largest scientific organizations. She continually served in leadership roles including as the chairperson of the Minority Affairs Committee, and eventually as the society president, notably during the United Nations’ International Year of Chemistry. Her prominent role in the global chemical community led to many honors including being named a fellow of ACS, AAAS, and IUPAC (the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), receiving the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from George Washington University, and being named to the Webster Groves High School Wall of Fame.

Away from work, Nancy loved the outdoors. She enjoyed hiking in the mountains, and she especially loved the ocean and the beach. She was a powerful and confident swimmer. She could sit on the beach, and sit, and sit, and sit, take a long swim until she was far out of sight, then return and sit some more. More than once her effort to squeeze every last second of beach time of out a trip led to a mad dash to the airport with a bag stuffed full of wet, sandy clothes. Though Nancy loved meeting, socializing, and being around people, she paradoxically was anything but an extrovert. She relied on recharge rituals which consistently included a Sunday New York Times and extended sessions of electronic solitaire. Still, while at home, she always found ways to live her values and give back to her community. For example, she was a founding member of the Board of Directors (and served as Board Chair) for Saranam, an organization providing housing and education for homeless families in Albuquerque.

Nancy retired from Sandia in 2017 as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff. Sadly, she developed aphasia about that time which relentlessly progressed and manifested as other neurological maladies that ultimately impacted even her muscles. Nonetheless, she enjoyed walking and driving in the Jemez and Sandia Mountains and swimming (or sitting) in the pool for most of her days. Those who knew her will remember her as a beautiful, charismatic, vivacious, wise, compassionate, influential, inspirational, accomplished, daring, and courageous woman. They will remember her as delightful company with an amazing smile. Some will count themselves lucky to have known her less public side as well, to know that she was deeply human. Others will recall her wise counsel, her mentorship and her advocacy for women, for Natives, and for others seeking fairness and justice. She was ever so proud of her sons, and she adored her husband. She spoke of them so fondly everywhere she went. Nancy lived a remarkable and consequential life; she embodied her role model “Wonder Woman.”  She will be sorely missed.

Nancy Jackson is survived by her husband, James Miller, her sons, Christopher and Jackson, her brother Peter, and her father Norman. Gifts can be made in Nancy’s name to the American Chemical Society’s Scholars Program, which provides scholarships and mentoring for students from groups underrepresented in chemistry, at www.acs.org/donate.

A memorial will be held in her honor at FRENCH-Wyoming 7121 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, on March 1st, 2022, at 4 p.m.