Obituary of Nancy Elizabeth Hartfeld

We are heartbroken to announce the death of Nancy Elizabeth Hartfeld, who passed away peacefully in Santa Barbara at the age of 69 on Wednesday April 10, 2024. Her diagnosis of aggressive pancreatic cancer came a mere 30 days before her tragic loss. Nancy has truly left a positive impact on everyone she has ever met.

Nancy was a much-beloved and devoted mother, grandmother, sister, nurse, and friend. Born in New Jersey to Harry and Elizabeth Tiemann, Nancy was destined to touch the lives of countless individuals through her profession and her innate capacity for empathy. After moving to Los Angeles and making her way up to Santa Barbara, she became an amazing mother to her two children, Skylar and Spencer. She taught us love, hard work, compassion, kindness, communication, and respect. Our mom always welcomed our friends into her home and treated each of them as if they were her own children. Nancy absolutely adored her five grandchildren and cared for them whenever possible. They all miss their “Mimi” dearly. Nancy was such a light in our lives, with love in her heart, caring in her eyes, warmth in her arms, and laughter in her soul.

Along with her love for nursing and her family, she had a great love for the outdoors, hiking, swimming, and working in her garden. She was always able to talk with anyone, and have a meaningful conversation that would sometimes end up in a lifelong friendship. Her ability to break down barriers in all walks of life was one of the reasons she was a resilient, strong, and sometimes an outspoken individual. Last year, at the ripe age of 68, she was able to fulfill a long time dream of exploring the Portugal sections of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. She completed 260km and created lasting friendships along the way.

Caregiving was always in her blood. So much so that many people referred to her as “Nurse Nancy'' as if that was her given name! Nancy initiated her life as a professional caregiver with the Florence Nightingale Pledge in 1976:

“I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly to practice my profession faithfully. I shall be loyal to my work and devoted towards the welfare of those committed to my care.”

These were not just words for Nancy but truly a lifelong pledge. Nancy was a registered nurse with a 34-year long career at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Much of her career was in the ICU as a preceptor, charge nurse, open heart specialist, instructor for hands on training, chairperson of the scheduling team, as well as co-chairperson of the Shared Governance Committee. She worked her last years in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Interventional Radiology. Nancy felt enormous joy from teaching new nurses, and she always greeted them with a huge smile. She has left a lasting legacy at SBCH through her love of nursing, teaching, mentoring, and caring for patients and staff. Care of her patients has been her utmost priority, so much so that for the three years she retired, she missed them almost every day. She even expressed in her last days that she hoped that every patient she ever cared for felt important and supported when they were at their worst. She directly touched the lives of tens of thousands of people over her career, which is not just a commitment to care, but Nancy’s legacy.

Nancy will survive in the hearts of all of her family and friends. She is loved and missed by her daughter and son-in-law, Skylar and Shane Greene, and their children, Roman, Morgan, and Hazel as well as her son and daughter-in-law, Spencer and Annika Hartfeld, and their children, Miles and Jeanne-Marie. She is also survived by her brother Stephen Tiemann, sister-in-law Karen Tiemann, and their daughter Amy. In addition, she is survived by Miles Hartfeld, beloved father of Skylar and Spencer.

A remembrance of life will happen for all community members May 4th, 3:30pm, at Elings Park, with a closed service for nurses and colleagues at Cottage Hospital with a future date and time.

In lieu of flowers please make donations in the name of Nancy Hartfeld to the American Nurses’ Foundation