Nancy Billings Gerlock

Nancy Billings Gerlock, 81, died unexpectedly of natural causes at her Pueblo home on Aug. 17, 2019. Born in Calif., Nancy was raised in her beloved hometown of Las Animas, Colo., where she recently maintained a second residence. Nancy moved her family to Pueblo in the 1960s where she became a pioneer women in broadcasting and a local celebrity on KOAA-TV/ Channel 5. Known as Nancy Dee, she was a producer, radio/ TV copywriter, promotions manager and on-air personality. A past member of American Women in Radio and Television, she was guest host for the KOA Denver Merri Lynn Show, led a two-week tour through Spain, Portugal and Morocco with local viewers when Pan Am launched its Iberian flight schedule and co-hosted a documentary on Rosemount before the home was opened to the public. She completed her bachelor’s degree in mass communications at the University of Southern Colorado in 1978 before moving into public relations/ marketing for Pueblo Bank & Trust and Qual-Med. In the 1980s, she was appointed by then Governor Dick Lamm to the State Board of Medical Examiners where she served four terms. Her lifelong dream was to own a bookstore and when she opened Books by the Bridge on Union Avenue in 1993 (and on the Victoria, during construction of the River-walk) she gained a tightknit book club of friends and fellow readers for nearly six years. A longtime community leader and champion of local causes, Nancy served on numerous boards including Southern Colorado Press Club, Public Relations Society of America, Alpha Mu Delta, The Human Rights Commission, Chamber of Commerce, First Presbyterian Church Day Care Center, Rosemount Museum and the Union Avenue Merchants Association, among others. In 2017, Nancy retired from the Social Security Administration after 15 years in the Canon City and Pueblo offices, during which time she was active in Fremont County, including Zonta International where she was president and an international delegate, AAUW and served on several arts boards. She wrote local news and biweekly column for the Canon City Daily Record and more recently was a reporter/ stringer for the community of Las Animas and the Bent County Democrat. Nancy is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Gerlock Genty of Pueblo and Denver; her granddaughter, Laura Genty of Boston, Mass.; her grandson, John Riley Alverson of Pueblo; and many lifelong and long-time friends and colleagues. She was preceded by her beloved son, John Gerlock; brothers, Clark and Jim; and her parents, Emma K. and Herb Billings. A celebration of life is planned on Memorial Day 2020, at her request, with burial at Las Animas Cemetery. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The John Gerlock Memorial Scholarship, Credit Union of Colorado, 1712 U.S. Highway 50 West, Pueblo, CO, 81008.