Nancy Shimer

“ So, because of my autism, my grandmother passed away of cancer ” — Daniel

Nancy Shimer

Nancy, as seen in the Tennyson Center Video, 2012.

Name: Nancy Shimer

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Alignment: Family

DOB: April 2, 1947

Gender: Female

Race: White

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Parents: Ramsa Sarah Kallie (Mother), Saleen Essa Kiswiney (Father)

Siblings: Carol McGuire, David Kiswiney

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Arcs Involved: Before Era

Nancy Jean Shimer (née Kiswiney; April 2, 1947 – July 24, 2019) was the maternal grandmother and legal guardian of Daniel Larson, adoptive mother of Elisabeth Shimer, mother of Sarah and Rachel Shimer, ex-wife of Daniel William Shimer, and ex-mother-in-law of Travis Larson.

Nancy was one of the most important figures in Daniels life. She moved from her home in California to Colorado to accompany Daniel during his stay at the Tennyson Center, taking guardianship of him to prevent him from being moved into a foster home after being removed from his mothers care by social services. Despite kinder treatment of Daniel, she was known to have enabled his bad habits, and allegedly, Daniel was said to have physically abused Nancy when he didn’t get his way.

Nancy passed away in Oakland, California, on July 24, 2019, at 72 years of age, of cancer. Even after being informed of her death, Daniel did not even bother to see his grandmother on her death bed. Her funeral service was held at the Mountain View Cemetery Tower Chapel in Piedmont Ave, Oakland. It is assumed that Daniel either did not attend, or was not invited.

After her death, Daniel would repeatedly mock Nancy's memory by stating that his grandmother put a curse on her, saying that his autism caused her to die, and being everything Nancy did not want him to be.

Biography

Early life

A picture of Nancy at an unknown age.

Nancy was born in Michigan to parents Ramsa Sarah Kallie (October 25th, 1910 – August 2nd, 1976), an elementary school teacher, and Saleen "Sam" Essa Kiswiney (June 13th, 1909 – January 10th, 1983), a grocery store manager and accountant. Her father served in WW2, and was noted to have witnessed the murder of a man at the hands of an amputee driving an automobile via hit-and-run. Nancy was the youngest of 3 children. She had two siblings, Carol Ann McGuire (née Kiswiney), and David Kiswiney.

Most of Nancys childhood is unknown. According to a comment left on an obituary by her older sister, Nancy's family lived across the street from the Venettis family on Berkshire in Detroit. Her family were good friends with the other family, and the couple who lived across the street, Elsie Ann Venettis and Jim Venettis, were always kind to the children. Their parents, Ramsa and Saleen, liked them very much.

Nancys photo for her universities' yearbook, aged 22. Dated 1969.

According to newspaper clippings, Nancy attended Grosse Pointe High School. At age 17, she was placed onto her school's honor roll. After high school, she attended Michigan State University, which she graduated from in 1969 with a Bachelors Degree in arts, and a minor in Humanities. In 1966, Nancy was a bridesmaid for her sister, Carol's wedding. Nancy would go on to a plan a wedding in 1968, possibly inspired by her sisters.

Nancy married Daniel William Shimer (1943–2015), an electrical engineer, on November 28, 1970. They had their wedding reception at the Grosse Pointe Garden Center and Lending Library. Afterward, they had two biological daughters, Sarah and Rachel, and eventually one adopted daughter, Elisabeth Shimer.

According to Daniel, Nancy worked in social services, with her job requiring her to relocate infants put up for adoption. During one of these relocations, Nancy stumbled upon Elisabeth while she was still an infant, to which she then adopted. It is unknown what relationship Elisabeth had with Nancy's biological children, much less what Nancy's relationship with her husband was, especially given their divorce on September 1, 2005. However, it can be assumed that it was less than positive.

Following her adoption of Elisabeth, she moved to from Michigan to California, where she took care of Elisabeth and her other children.

Nancy photo for her high schools' yearbook, aged 17. Dated 1964.

Later life, and adoption of Daniel

Information on Daniel and Nancy's marriage ceremony.

Nancy's later life is most unknown. However, her and her husband eventually divorced on September 1, 2005. It is unclear if this was the date they truly divorced, though. There is also a record of them divorcing on January 30th, 1984. It is possible they remarried, but confirmation on this matter is inconclusive.

When Daniel Larson, her grandson, was about 11 years old, he was removed from his mother’s care due to him allegedly being neglected. After Daniel was taken from her daughter’s care, a custody battle involving Daniel's mother and Nancy began. Information on this is sparse, but according to Daniel, Nancy’s main argument for him to not be in his father’s care was because he, quote, “didn’t even know his father.” Regardless of the validity of this statement, this raises many questions about what their relationship was like before Travis and Elisabeth broke things off.

In the end, Nancy gained custody of Daniel, and eventually became Daniel's legal guardian. Afterward, Nancy would take him out of the Tennyson centers housing program, and would be moved to just schooling. In December 2012, local Colorado news channel KWGN reported on the Tennyson Center, featuring a 14-year-old Daniel and his grandmother. Nancy speaks on how Daniel was a very angry child before she gained custody of him, and was now on the path to improvement.

Daniel would continue to live with Nancy after this.

Death

On July 24, 2019, Nancy Shimer passed away at the age of 72 due to cancer. The type of cancer she had is unknown. While Nancy was passing away, Daniel was invited to the hospice center, where Nancy stayed in her last moments. Instead of seeing her, Daniel chose to attend a Special Olympics game he was participating in to show that he was a “fighter”.

According to Flexburger, Daniel claimed that he never attended her funeral.^{[citation needed]} It is unknown if this was due to him not wanting to go, or because of him not being invited. Nancy’s funeral service was held at the Mountain View Cemetery Tower Chapel.

Relationships

Daniel

Prior to 2010, Daniel had been living with his mother, Elisabeth, though was neglected due to her lupus illness causing her to be wheelchair-bound. Nancy would adopt Daniel sometime between 2010-2012 while Daniel was in the Tennyson Center to prevent Daniel from being put into a foster care system.

Bob Proctor

It was widely speculated that Nancy Shimer and Bob Proctor were in a long-term relationship before Bob met Daniel through the Tennyson Center Reading Buddies program. However, Daniel stated that Bob and Nancy were both in a friendship around the time Bob had met Daniel.

Nancy had also fought for custody of Daniel sometime around 2017-2019 when Daniel has transitioned from Tennyson and Sobesky to his group home that he had been living in. Daniel claimed in an Spiddlekick Interview that Nancy and Travis had fought for custody over Daniel, and that Nancy managed to easily win the custody battle with the defense that Daniel had not known his father. It is possible that Nancy was a case manager for Daniel, or at least took on that role during Daniel's stay within his foster homes and under her guardianship.

See Also

Before Era
The Players:	The Events:	The Places:
Elisabeth Shimer Travis Larson Nancy Shimer Katie Elise	Birth of Daniel Mental health issues KWGN Tennyson Center News Report November 6th Arrest	Tennyson Center Sobesky Academy