Nancy Rae (Sobolewski) Nemacheck

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Nancy Rae (Sobolewski) Nemacheck, 63, passed away peacefully at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, on Dec. 26, 2016, after fighting a courageous battle against breast cancer and pulmonary hypertension.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Marian L. Sobolewski.

She is survived by her husband, Tom Nemacheck, of Iron Mountain, Mich .; children, Nicole (Stephen) Thumm, of Rochester, and Christian Colasacco, of Ironwood, Mich .; stepdaughters, Katie Smith, of Kingsford, Mich., and Kim Nemacheck, of Madison, Wis .; beloved granddaughters, Marli Smith and Domenica Thumm; father, Maxwell Sobolewski; stepmother, Eunice (Gretchen), of St. Paul; sisters, Maxine (Dale) Akers, of Saxon, Wis., and Linda (Mark) Wahlberg of St. Paul; brothers, Terry (Mitzi) Sobolewski, of Blaine, Tom (Lisa) Sobolewski, of Ironwood, Mich., and Tim (Jody) Sobolewski, of St. Paul.

Nancy was born on March 29, 1953, in Ironwood. In 1971, she graduated high school from Our Lady of Peace in St. Paul. In 1974, she married Gary Colasacco and they had two children, Nicole and Christian. During this time, she developed a wonderful lifelong relationship with her mother-in-law, Bette Colasacco.

She was an avid learner and attended Gogebic Community College (1973 Associate in Arts, 1981 Associate of Business) and Northland College. During the 1980s and '90's, she worked as a court reporter throughout the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin and was employed as the judicial assistant at Iron County Courthouse in Hurley, Wis. In 1998, she left her courthouse career and pursued her love of travel by becoming a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines, a career which she continued to love until her illness prevented her from flying. On April 25, 2003, she married her long-time partner, Tom Nemacheck. They shared a love of travel and the outdoors and were blessed to explore many places throughout the world together. Nancy is remembered by her family and friends as a spontaneous and generous person with a great sense of humor and an enormous heart. She was passionate about issues affecting Ironwood Township and cherished the time she spent working on her home or planting trees on her property. Her faith and strength during her illness were an inspiration to many. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her. "Flight attendants don't die, they just fly higher."

Services will be held at noon on Friday, Jan. 20, at Cornerstone Church in Ramsay, Mich., followed by a luncheon at Manny's Restaurant in Ironwood, MI.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Nancy's name to: Department of Development, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905.