Lt. Col. Nancy J. Krier (nee Carlson). Died July 16, 2026, at age 77. Nancy was born to mother Alice E. (nee Sahlin) and father Alfred E. Carlson and was predeceased by both parents, in 2006 and 1992 respectively. She was also predeceased by husband Lt. Col. Andrew Michael (Mick) Krier (1947-2014) and eldest son Andrew (Joshua) (1974-2025). She is survived by her son Zachary. Nancy was born in Akron, Ohio on August 19, 1948 but spent most of her elementary and high school years in Mokena, Illinois, graduating from Lincoln-Way High School in 1966. She was a high honor and popular student in high school, then entered the nursing program at North Park University in Chicago. She entered the US Army Student Nurse program in 1968 while she finished her nursing degree. After graduating in 1970, she attended Officer Basic training in San Antonio, Texas as a 2Lt and then was assigned to Ft. Devins, Massachusetts as her first duty station. She met her future husband while they were both stationed at Ft. Devins in 1970. Husband Mick was part of the Army Special Forces and was assigned to Vietnam. He and Nancy were engaged at Fort Devens before he left. Shortly afterward Nancy was assigned to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon along with several other close friends and nurses from Ft. Devens. Nancy and Mick were married in Saigon in 1972 at the same hospital’s chapel and had a reception at the officer’s club there.
In 1973, both Nancy and Mick were temporarily reassigned to Fort Devens where they retired from active duty and joined the National Guard. They first built a house and lived in Acton, Massachusetts where Nancy worked in local hospitals and got her Masters of Nursing at Boston, University. In 1975 they moved to Chicago and she taught Nursing at Elmhurst College and served as the Director of Nursing for Nursefinders. She then joined the Illinois Hospital Association as Vice President of Nursing. Nancy became well known in Illinois for her legislative and policy initiatives in support of nursing and healthcare and upon her retirement from the IHA she started a successful consulting company working with various Schools of Nursing and Hospitals around the state of Illinois. While Nancy was in the reserves, she was promoted to LTC, her rank at her retirement. After her husband’s death in 2014, she retired to Sun City in Huntley, Illinois. Throughout her life, Nancy was very active both professionally and personally. She loved to travel, was an avid golfer, and socialized with many friends she made throughout her life. She is survived by her sister Maureen Burt (Arizona), her brother Al (Indiana), and her brother Richard (Kathy) – New Hampshire. Nancy’s Memorial Service and honor guard will be on October 23rd, 2026 at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois at 12:00 noon.
