Nancy Jane Carleton Walton passed away after a brief illness on December 26, 2024 in Grovetown, GA. Nancy, formerly Oxford, MI, is survived by her daughters Alicia (Benjamin) Steele, and Meredith (Michael) Tongish, granddaughters Grace Steele, Phoebe and Addie Tongish, as well as nieces, nephews and their families. Nancy was born February 17, 1942, in Shelby, Ohio, to Wayne Merritt Carleton and Helen Marvel (Condit) Carleton. As a young child Nancy had fond memories of her brother Bob teaching her to swim, and in the winter he taught her to ice skate. Her love for being involved and part of an organization started early as she was secretary and chairman of her Girl Scout Troop #2. In May 1964, Nancy graduated from Hillsdale with her bachelor’s degree in Math and Education. Ted and Nancy married in Shelby, Ohio, on August 6, 1966. In 1972, Nancy and friends Julie (Jenkins) Morton and Nancy (Knorr) Polk founded a needle works shop, Knit Cetera, in Oxford, Michigan. In the fall of 1977, Nancy and Ted received the exciting news of twins to be adopted and Meredith and Alicia arrived into their lives. The girls brought joy into her life. Nancy was an avid volunteer with the Rochester Garden Club and held many roles during her almost 50 years in the organization and received the Distinguished Member award in 2011. Nancy also served as a Michigan Optometric Association Women’s Auxiliary member, a representative for AAOA/AFVA to the National Safety Council Youth Division, was awarded Mrs. O.D., received the Benjamin Stein Award, President’s Award and served on the MFVA Advisory Board. Nancy was instrumental in starting Opening Eyes at Special Olympics Michigan. Nancy was the bookkeeper for the family’s optometric office and was essential in bringing the office into the computer age. She was the bookkeeper at Premier Travel in Birmingham, Michigan for many years and was a member of Lake Orion United Methodist Church. The girls and Nancy loved going to the pool and working in her flower gardens. Nancy enjoyed taking her granddaughters flower shopping and going to the children’s garden at Van Hoosen Farm. Nancy was a friend to all; she just drew people in and they were friends from that moment on. A celebration of Nancy’s life will be hosted by family and friends on Saturday June 21, 2025, at 2 p.m. at Lake Orion United Methodist Church, 140 East Flint St., Lake Orion, MI 48362. In lieu of flowers, please donate to either The Rochester Garden Club or Opening Eyes at Special Olympics Michigan. For links to these donations, please see the complete obituary at https://www.thomaspoteet.com/obituaries.