Nancy Gallienne Yost

On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, Nancy Gallienne Yost, loving mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully under Hospice care at age 87. She was surrounded by family in her daughter and son-in-law’s home with her little dog by her side.

Nancy was born January 4, 1935 in Asheville, NC, to Everette and Helen (Leatherwood) Gallienne. She grew up in Canton, NC with her older sister Jean, and graduated from Canton High School in 1953 where she engaged in many school activities. Nancy competed on the basketball and swim teams. She played piano, alto saxophone (All State Band ’53), and was a member of the choral club. Nancy had natural leadership capabilities and served as president of the folklore club, vice president of the dramatics club (asst. director of the senior play), and chairwoman of the Beta club. Her other club pursuits included latin, dance, and journalism. She even won the Women’s Speech Club contest in the junior-senior division with her essay, “America’s Dream,” which was subsequently printed in the local newspaper.

Her college preparatory course load in high school led her to Duke University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1957 from the School of Nursing. Upon graduation, Nancy moved to Hawaii with a couple of her fellow classmates where she worked as an R.N. at the hospital in Honolulu for a year. She then moved to San Francisco, CA, where she met and married Robert E. Lindstedt in 1960 and lived with his 3-year-old daughter, Teresa. Later that year they had a daughter of their own, Karen. Sadly, Bob succumbed to leukemia shortly after their daughter’s birth, so Nancy drove back across country with her toddler and step-daughter to be closer to her family in Canton.

In 1969, Nancy married her second husband, Charles A. Yost. Nancy, Charles, her two girls and Charles’ two children from a previous marriage, moved to Asheville where Nancy continued her nursing career at Memorial Mission Hospital. They had a daughter, Susan, together in 1970. During this period of her life, Nancy served as a volunteer Girl Scout leader, was a member of the neighborhood bowling team, hosted Tupperware parties, and played cards with the local bridge club. However, in 1976, the couple amicably parted ways. In 1978, Nancy moved to Candler, NC, and took a position with better hours as the “shot nurse” at Mountain Allergy and Associates in Asheville where she worked until her retirement.

Nancy grew up with a very strong work ethic, but she also enjoyed her down time. She loved being in the mountains and the outdoors, and stayed highly active throughout her life. She loved to travel and went on several European and Canadian tours, cruises and trips to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, New England, the Virgin Islands and the British West Indies. Her hobbies included cross-stitching, crocheting and horseback riding. Nancy loved animals and always had pets—dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, hamsters, fish and birds. She was never without an animal companion of some kind.

In her later years, she became an avid reader and was a regular at the local library. She stayed fit by swimming and walking almost every day. In the winters when her condo pool was closed, she would do her “Cindy Crawford exercises”, swim at Gold’s Gym, or sit and listen to music in her living room. You could often find Nancy listening to her favorite artists (Adele, Barbara Streisand, Lionel Richie, Josh Groban), watching her favorite tv shows (The Voice, American Idol, Entertainment Tonight), or following Duke-Carolina basketball.

She regularly dined with her condo friends, and would spend many hours sitting on her back deck just enjoying the mountain breezes. She doted on her best friend Baylee—her West Highland Terrier—and was always taking him to the groomer, on walks, or to the dog park—often accompanied by her neighbors and their dogs.

As a dutiful Christian, Nancy spent many hours reading her Bible. She served a stint as president of her Sunday school class and regularly attended services at Central United Methodist Church in Asheville where she was a long-time member.

Although she was a person of many wide-ranging interests and talents, Nancy will always be remembered simply as the incredibly sweet, generous, loving, kind-hearted person she was. She made friends easily and was well-loved and valued by everyone she met. And even though she struggled quietly—often alone—through many difficult life experiences, she always carried herself with grace, strength, courage and integrity. We would all be so lucky to have even an ounce of her self-reliance, good nature, will, and fortitude.

Nancy was preceded in death by her mother, father, and sister. Her step-daughter Terri passed away June 9, 2023. Nancy is survived by her daughters Karen Cline and Susan Yost (Derek Kent), her granddaughter Jennifer Warren and her little dog Baylee.