Nancy E. Deters (80) of Sigel

Nancy E. Deters, 80, of Sigel died early Monday morning, January 23, 2017 at HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:30am Wednesday, January 25 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Sigel with burial in St. Michael Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 4pm Tuesday at the church with a 7:30pm parish wake service to follow. Bauer Funeral Home in Effingham is assisting the family with arrangements. Memorial donations may be made toward the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (Out of Darkness campaign) or to the St. Anthony’s and Sacred Heart Schools Scholarship Fund to benefit Latinos. Bauer Funeral Home in Effingham is assisting the family with arrangements.

Online condolences may be left by clicking here. 

Nancy was born October 20, 1936, the daughter of Edward and Katherine (Dunbar) Baumgart. Nancy grew up in the Chicago area, first on the south side, and then in Lombard. She graduated from Rosary College, with degrees in social work and Spanish. During her early adulthood, she met Cletus Deters while they were both social workers at Catholic Charities in Chicago. They married in 1964, before later moving to Effingham, and eventually to Sigel in 1975. Nancy and Clete operated an apple orchard next door to the home they built in Sigel. For many years, Nancy entertained and educated many local grade school students with stories and displays of her vast collection of apple-themed novelties. Nancy’s greatest passions were the many good social causes she supported. You never needed to wonder where she stood on social issues – she would tell you, and then she would write a Letter to the Editor. Nancy believed in letters of all kinds - thank you’s, get-wells, birthdays, and especially Letters to the Editor. Many of the people who knew her for even a short while got those letters, in her own unique penmanship. We finally stopped counting her Letters to the Editor of the Effingham Daily News at 100! Sometimes the EDN asked if they could reprint some of their favorite Letters, especially the “Children of the Corn” edition about the annual corn detassling ritual. Her letters usually addressed a social issue of importance, and were often on the “wrong” side of public opinion. Nonetheless, Mom believed that she persuaded many to join her on the “right” side. She loved that people cared about her writing and her opinions. How ironic that her last letter put folks on notice that it was unwise to ask seniors dealing with numerous indignities the question “How are you?”, unless you were prepared for a brutally honest answer. From her perspective, the far better salutation is “it’s good to see you”. Nancy founded FISH in 1972 with her good friend Mary Ellen Rauch. With the selfless help of thousands over the years, FISH remains one of the preeminent social service agencies in the Effingham County region today. One of her greatest accomplishments was her decades of service to Effingham’s often-overlooked Hispanic population, acting as a Spanish interpreter for traffic tickets, and helping doctors deliver babies. A volunteer to the core, she never charged anyone a dime for these services. Instead, she won a community of friends for life, and friendships that lasted until her passing. For the last few years, Nancy suffered from crippling arthritis that kept her in bed most of her days, and in a wheelchair when she got out. Only with the help of so many was she able to meet her goal of staying at home until her death. There are too many to thank, but we must mention Larry Coen, Betty Zumbahlen, Sister Pat Schultz, Tom and Margie and Tony and Tina Deters, Renee Flach, Penny Beckman and so many others. Most of all, her caretaker and friend, Susan Vogt, whose daily visits were indispensable in helping her stay in the home she loved for so long.

She is survived by her children, Edward (Denise) of Effingham, Joseph (Amy) of Wildwood, MO, Matthew (Regina) of Los Angeles, CA, Stephen of Los Angeles, CA, and Katherine (Saul) of Richland, WA; sister, Judy (Frank) McIlmail of Rochester, MN; 7 grandchildren Eric, Laura, Meg, Jaclyn, Sophie, Sam and Gabriel.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Clete; son, Michael Francis Cletus and sister, Linda Girard.