Coronado Eagle, Volume 1, Number 7, 3 October 1990 — Nancy Ratcliff© Puts Heart into Her Jazz Beat [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nancy Ratcliff© Puts Heart into Her Jazz Beat

by Sue Welch

I think everything in Coronado is a good deal. Some things are super good deals, and some are world class good deals. One of the WCGD’s, even by high Coronado standards, occurs every morning at eight at the Women’s Qub with the morning sun and the glistening sailboats in the harbor for a backdrop. Nancy Ratcliffe and her WCGD Jazzercise class rev up their heartbeats and dance their way into each other’s lives and hearts. You don’t just join a class here, you find a sorority of all shapes, sizes, and ages with all kinds of careers, families, and interests, who gather together every day to dance and support each other through thick and

thin, no matter what. That is the absolute - NO MATTER WHAT. We are led by a woman who genuinely cares about her friends. Since she’s never met a stranger, I’m sure she thinks of each as a sister, or close relative, anyway. If you are ill, you get cards and visits; celebrating a birthday, you get the song “Older Women” dedicated just to you. Nancy and her Jazzerettes (Lisa Cox, Marilyn Sibley, Kim Gregory, Jina Serna, Jane Kaine, Chris Duryea) will be glad to dance in and rev up any party. Fourth of July Parade - they march miles down Orange Avenue together. School Physical Education, The Brownies, and the Cub Scouts all benefit from this sleek, attractive lady who lights up just for a Thank You. Nancy gives back much more than she could ever get from this SGD in Coronado. She’s an old-fashioned girl who still gets a thrill out of the holidays. At Halloween, it’s a costumed dance class (last year in support of the American Heart Association, she raised more than $800). At Thanksgiving, admission to class some days is canned goods, to benefit the Salvation Army food baskets. At Christmas, you bring extra little things from your grocery shopping that go into bright red and green bags for residents of the women’s shelter. In this area, Nancy relies on Jeanne Shoemaker who plans, gathers, and distributes for all the charities. You always know that you are welcome in whatever she’s currently supporting.

But it’s not all fund-raising and special events. It’s frequent, total hilarity. We all know the REAL meaning of some of the pop-rock songs we dance to: Nancy explains all about men to “A Snake in the Grass”, “Wild Women Do” and “Love Pains”. We all know what July 3rd is (her father’s birthday) and we all know who Barney is...that he works at K-Mart and is in charge of the blue light. We NEVER understood why Nancy dedicates “Great

Balls of Fire” to Homer Bludau every Saturday morning. Sometimes he’s honored with “Steamy Windows”. Can anybody tell me why? I personally feel that it shouldn’t be that difficult to keep up with a woman who is only weeks younger and heavy with her fourth child. Unfortunately for me, Nancy Ratcliffe is not just any other woman. She’s one of Coronado’s World Class Good Deals.

Nancy Ratcliffe

From left are Kim Gregory, Lisa Cox, Nancy Ratcliffe, Marilyn Sibley, and Joan Gilliam