Nancy Jean Code

Nancy Jean Code passed away unexpectedly on June 2, 2026, at the age of 92 years old. She was born September 22, 1933, in Fargo, ND to Walter and Mary (Masterson) Larson and was raised in Buffalo ND, except for the years from 1943 to 1945 when the extended family moved to Mt. Vernon, WA due to the lingering impacts of the Great Depression on the surrounding community and the availability of relatively high-paying and plentiful WWII defense-related work at the Whidbey Island shipyards.

After completing high school, Nancy accompanied her cousin Virginia (Russell) Schobinger to Seattle and decided to stay, soon after finding an apartment on Capitol Hill and a job at Boeing.  She met Ennis Code through then roommates and subsequent lifelong friends, Karen Miller and Jeannette Lovell. Nancy and Ennis married in 1955 and produced their three children over the following four years. Once the kids were in elementary school, Nancy enrolled in community college, eventually transferring to the UW, and ultimately graduating with an MSW degree in 1975. She balanced motherhood, volunteering at the kids’ school, Bluebird leader duties, university coursework, innumerable internships and work at a time when in her experience, it was unusual for “older” women to pursue college degrees. Her long career at the Community Psychiatric Clinic included being on Seattle’s first Crisis Intervention Team and working as a clinical social worker. She eventually transitioned to a private psychotherapy practice, reluctantly retiring at the age of 90.

Nancy had a vivacious spirit and curiosity; she loved international travel and meeting new people. She was a voracious reader of mysteries and a committed lover of the theater and arts.  She was a Nordstrom card holder for over sixty years, evidenced by decades of impeccable tailoring. Nancy was a life-long athlete, playing pickup softball in her youth, basketball on the Buffalo, ND High School girls’ team, going on throughout her life to find love for tennis, bike-riding, cross-country skiing, yoga, Body Pump fitness classes, and squash; winning a squash tournament at the Seattle Athletic Club in her late 60s. Even in her last days on this earth, she loved bi-weekly Pilates workouts, walks through Capitol Hill, and living independently. Her grandchildren were indisputably her greatest joy for the last 33 years. She was a remarkable woman and will be deeply missed. She is predeceased by her parents and sister, Sally Ann Johnson. She is survived by her beloved brother, Richard Larson of Fargo ND, her children, Kevin Code (Louis Worden), Karen Code, and Laurel Code (Aaron Greenberg, deceased), her deeply beloved grandchildren Maya Code-Williams and Ava Code-Williams, and numerous treasured nieces and nephews. Donations in her honor may be made to Seattle Rep, KUOW or the Seattle Public Library Foundation.