November 8, 2025. Nancy Lynn Hartmann died at Harbour Manor in Noblesville, Indiana. She was 65. The news moved through Illinois and Indiana, two states she had called home. People who knew her used words like intelligent, creative, and warm. She was all of those things.
Nancy was born in Woodstock, Illinois, on April 30, 1960. Her parents were William E. McCormick and Barbara L. McCormick, who was born Cutforth. For 22 years, Nancy lived in Crystal Lake, Illinois. That town shaped her early years. She graduated from Crystal Lake Central High School in 1978 as Salutatorian. That meant she was second in her class. Not everyone achieves that.
She went to the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana. She studied Advertising in the College of Media. Her grades placed her in the top three percent of her graduating class. The university recognized her as a Bronze Tablet Scholar. That honor stays with a graduate for life.
After college, she worked at The Perkins Group in Indianapolis. She was a media buyer for four years. Her job was to place advertisements where they would be seen by the right people. Colleagues say she had a strategic mind and paid attention to small details. She left the field to start a family. Her career was brief but well respected.
Nancy lived in Indianapolis for 30 years. Then she moved to Fishers, Indiana. She spent her remaining years there. Neighbors in Fishers remember her as someone who engaged with people easily. She did not keep to herself.
She leaves behind her family. What she also leaves is a record of academic excellence that few can match. The Bronze Tablet list is short. Her name is on it. That achievement will outlive her.
