Nancy Wolf, former Director of Facilities & Operations at The Walt Disney Family Museum, passed away on December 29, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Florida, surrounded by her family and friends.
Nancy Wolf was a trailblazer—project-managing large construction jobs in a field historically dominated by men. Despite the challenges, which she kept to herself, she managed to perform at the highest level and consistently get results for her clients.
Nancy began working at The Walt Disney Family Museum before the museum opened in 2009. I had the privilege to work with her for several years after I joined in 2013. She was deeply loyal and unbelievably hardworking. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of everything having to do with the museum and consistently kept the complex museum systems operating day and night.
Nancy was from a family of ten children. At one point, all 12 family members lived in a 1,030 square foot house with one bathroom. She nostalgically told me stories of her childhood, reflecting that she had no idea at the time how tight the quarters were. It was a happy life.
Nancy was dedicated to her family and did not hesitate to support them from a young age. She got her first job—at a Dairy Queen in Florida—when she was 12 years old. She routinely slipped her siblings soft serve cones.
Nancy’s loyalty and drive to protect people was also clear in her professional life. Quietly, behind the scenes, she made sure that the museum team members were always as safe as possible. On more than one occasion, I found out after the fact that she was putting measures in place to help ensure our safety.
But my most lasting memory of Nancy will likely be her incredible sense of humor. She routinely made me laugh, even in difficult times. As my mother has always said, true humor is a sign of intense intelligence.
I have endless gratitude for Nancy’s contributions to the museum. And I miss her deeply.