Nancy Jo Hammer Morton passed away on the morning of Sunday, June 22, 2025, at the age of 79, with her loving children at her side. Nancy was born in Great Falls on January 30, 1946, to Norton and Muggs Hammer, and graduated from Great Falls High School in 1965. She held the position of Cascade County Clerk of District Court before retiring in 2007 when her granddaughter, Haleigh, was born.
Nancy married Terry Morton on August 15, 1970, and enjoyed over 50 years of marriage together; spending time and making many memories with their children and grandchildren. Nancy, known to her grandsons in Oregon as “Grandma Montana,” or simply as “Gram” to her granddaughters, spent many weekends when she and Terry were young, camping with family at their favorite camping spot on Bean Lake. They spent many nights playing Tripoly in one of the campers with family, laughing and creating memories that continue to be shared to this day. We still tell stories about her refusing to come out of the camper until she got her hair fixed, just to end up on the lake in an innertube and eventually soaking wet and having to fix her hair all over again. She and Terry would get the camper ready for the weekend and take off after work on Friday, return Sunday afternoon and get it unpacked, cleaned out, kids bathed, before getting ready for another work week.
Later in life, Nancy and Terry spent their weekends traveling across Montana to watch Greg and Angie in school sporting events, trying their best to watch both of them no matter where they played. They enjoyed the friends made while supporting Bison football, basketball, volleyball, and golf. This led to college years back and forth between Missoula and Bozeman. Nancy would spend countless hours cleaning and making a dorm or apartment feel like a home.
Once her children were married with kids, Nancy loved taking road trips to Arizona and Oregon to visit family, traveling with her sister, hosting holidays, cooking with her granddaughters, spoiling her grandchildren, lunches with old friends, and decorating her house and beautifying the yard. She would never miss a cabin trip to Neihart, no matter the weather. While there, Nancy spent many hours telling stories by the campfire, taking long side by side rides with her girls, painting at the picnic table, and enjoying the view. No matter the chapter of her life, she was all about spending time with family. The people she loved brought her the most joy.
She is survived by her son, Greg (Shelly) Morton; daughter, Angie (Mike) Henneberg; granddaughters, Haleigh and Kendal; grandsons, Miles, Caleb, Tyler, and Eli; sister, Bev Denning; nieces, Morley Huettl and Deana (Brian) Wiest; brother-in -law, Tony (Vicki and Derek) Morton; and her sweet dog, Baleigh.
Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Terry; brother, Bob; parents, Muggs and Nort; mother and father-in-law, Tad and Dora; and brothers-in-law, Tom and Tim. She will always be remembered as kind, giving, sweet, up for anything, and family oriented. She was truly beautiful both inside and out and will be forever missed by all that knew her.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
