On any given day she can be seen tootling around Kingfisher with her pretty red hair in her pretty red car. She is on a mission.

There is not enough time for Nancy Hasenfratz to get everything done. Just not enough time…

There are cookies to deliver, music to share, gardens to tend, hands to hold, students to listen to, hospital rounds to make, nursing home residents to visit, assisted living friends to see, meetings to attend, meals to deliver, a couple of cakes to make, hugs to deliver, notes to write, popcorn to pop, popcorn to deliver, and of course a few holes of golf to play…

And then… it starts all over again tomorrow.

Wayne and Nancy Hasenfratz, along with their three children, Bob, Sally and Anne, moved from Perry to Kingfisher in 1964.

Wayne started his new job at Kingfisher Bank and Trust and Nancy began her tenacious journey of spreading her time, edibles and love to Kingfisher county.

Over the years, Nancy has been an integral part of the Kingfisher community.

She has been actively involved in Kingfisher Study Club, a 63-year member of P.E.O., the Federated Church, Kingfisher Golf Association, longtime county election precinct worker and much more.

It’s no wonder the Kingfisher Chamber of Commerce named her Kingfisher’s Citizen of the Year for 1995.

But her most significant contributions to our community may go unnoticed to many – those minute kindnesses that can change an attitude, soften a heart and add a dose of encouragement.

Making people feel loved is her specialty.

Nancy has one of the longest tenures as a volunteer at Gilmour Elementary School, where she found joy in listening to the children read or helping them with their work.

Always included in these visits would be her smile and usually a hug.

Of course, she rarely arrived empty handed. Popcorn or treats were usually involved. Nancy was selected in 2003 by the Oklahoma Directors of Special Services as the recipient of the Maurice Walraven Award.

According to the ODSS website this award annually recognizes a person who has made a valuable contribution to the education of children with disabilities over a period of years.

Another passion of hers has been the Kingfisher Hospital. She served as a “Pink Lady,” a member of the hospital’s volunteer auxiliary, for as long as anyone can remember.

If you listened carefully you may have heard the sweet notes of the flute floating around Nancy as she helped a youngster to develop a love for this instrument.

The flute, the piano and the harp are all instruments that Nancy has mastered, although she’d snicker at the mention of mastering the harp, an instrument she took up later in life. She has shared her gift of music and her appreciation for music with many a Kingfisher County student, as well as school bands and other organizations.

“Homemade popcorn,” the kind that involves shaking a pan of loose kernels and a layer of hot oil on a stovetop instead of slapping a prepackaged bag into the microwave, has nearly become a lost art.

But it’s not lost on Nancy, who buys her raw kernels by the case to have enough on hand for early morning popping to surprise hundreds of unsuspecting birthday boys and girls over the years.

Husband Wayne, an accomplished carpenter, has made thousands of little wooden crosses over the years, which Nancy has diligently delivered to residents across the county.

They can be seen hanging from rearview mirrors, being worn as necklaces or marking pages in books, small tokens of her love of Christ and her mission of sharing his love.

Her faith is where Nancy gets her inspiration to do all she can for others. She has served in roles too numerous to mention at the Federated Church, but one of the most memorable is her ministry of food.

She has knocked on door after door delivering food items – meals, pies, cookies, casseroles, cakes and more – -to the sick and homebound, to visitors and new residents and for countless other occasions.

Frequently, she can be found among other church members laboring over the church gardens and making sure that they are just perfect. All of these things standing alone are a testimony to a sacrificial heart.

But, what is amazing about Nancy is that she does them all concurrently. She doesn’t stop or sit. Just ask Wayne. He timed her once when she finally sat down and it didn’t last long at all.

When you talk to Nancy, she will tell you that she is just ordinary, but she is far from ordinary.

Her selflessness has been a true gift to Kingfisher and offers proof that each act of kindness, however small, can be a catalyst for making a huge difference in the lives of others.

Undoubtedly, Nancy is not done with her mission.

She has more people to visit, hugs to give, cakes to bake, notes to write, people to greet, hands to hold, and crosses to pass out, among many other things.

So if you see her tootling around with her pretty red hair in her pretty red car, just know...she’s a woman on a mission.