Nancy Lee Barnhart

Nancy Lee (Hoshall) Barnhart, 85, of Peachtree City, Georgia passed away peacefully on January 28, after a 7-year battle with dementia.  Nancy, or “Nan” as her family knew her, was born on November 14, 1939 in York, Pennsylvania. During her lifetime, she lived in Alexandria, Virginia and Brunswick, Georgia, and eventually settled in College Park, Georgia in the late 1960s with her then-husband Jim.  Nancy moved to Peachtree City, Georgia in 1984 and remained there until she became ill in 2018 and her daughter moved her to Decatur, Georgia, to be closer to her. Regardless of where she lived, York was always “home,” and she was proud to talk about it with anyone who would listen. 

When she was young, Nancy enjoyed collecting baseball cards, reading novels and comic books (especially Archie and Friends), going to the York Fair, and roller skating with friends. After graduating from William Penn High School in 1957, Nancy realized her life-long dream of being a nurse, graduating from the York Hospital School of Nursing in 1960. She discovered a passion for surgical nursing, and remained an Operating Room nurse throughout her life, spending most of her career at South Fulton Medical Center in East Point, Georgia, where she was an active member of the Atlanta chapter of the Association of Operating Room Nurses, retiring in 2001. She was fascinated by surgery, and particularly loved passing instruments to surgeons as they operated.   

In her spare time, Nancy loved crossword puzzles, playing solitaire (with actual cards), reading, and watching TV, particularly Disney, Hallmark, and Turner Classic movies.   

Nancy was married to James Barnhart from 1963 to 1980, but the real love of her life was her daughter, Stephanie, born in 1971.  When Stephanie was young, Nancy taught her Sunday School class at Christ Lutheran church. Nancy was an active Girl Scout volunteer during Stephanie’s childhood, taking charge of the yearly cookie sales and acting as an unofficial co-leader on many camping trips and excursions.  She was also a dedicated flag corps mom, working in the concession stand for home football games, volunteering to sort fruit for the annual fundraiser, and travelling with the band to cheer Stephanie at all of her games and competitions. She even worked evening and extra on-call shifts while Stephanie was in college so that her daughter could focus on her studies rather than having to work to pay for school.  Nancy’s love language was Acts of Service, and her daughter knew without a doubt that she was loved beyond measure. 

Nancy is preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Mary (Hoke) Hoshall and siblings Barbara Jean Hoshall and Richard Hoshall, all of York, Pennsylvania. She is survived by her daughter, Stephanie Barnhart and son-in-law Michael Reid of Decatur, Georgia; sisters Patrecia Hoshall and Ruth Cunnigham of York, Pennsylvania and Gail Wilkinson of Ocean City, Maryland; niece Cristina Stabley; nephews Adam and Lance Cunningham; and grandcat Duncan.  

A private family service and internment will be held in York, PA at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to the York Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association (YHSNAA1884@gmail.com), or the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).