Professional Life

Nancy Cain is a retired college professor, having been a full-time professor of biology and algebra at Colorado Mountain College (CMC) for many years. She has led an eclectic professional life and was one of the first females to work underground at Climax Mine from 1974-1975. After leaving her job at Climax, she drove to Alaska to try to get work on the Alaska Pipeline, but unfortunately her mining skills did not translate to pipeline work. Other sundry jobs in her past include driving a bus to transport employees from Leadville to Copper Mountain, a lab technician for the Environmental Protection at the Denver Federal Center, and a parking monitor for Colorado State University. Each opportunity has presented her with a learning experience.

Non-Profit Experience

Most of Nancy’s volunteer work has been direct and hands-on. She and her children volunteered for the Leadville Trail 100 and Bike 100 for several years. Her work started with making five gallons of potato soup, then moved to directing traffic, providing support and directions for runners, and calling in jersey numbers to the May Queen tent. Nancy has given tours at the National Mining Museum, helped clean up trails around Leadville, and baked massive cinnamon rolls for fundraising events. She also started and led the first chapter of Pi Theta Kappa honor society for CMC, for which she applied for and received a grant to fund.

The Importance of St. Vincent Health and the Health of Lake County

Nancy knows first-hand how crucial St. Vincent Hospital is for our community. Hospital doctors and staff saved her father’s hand—and his life—after a horrific skiing accident in 1964. Nancy believes that hospitals, along with schools, are the backbone that keep our community not just surviving, but thriving. She is all too happy to support the Foundation in strengthening this backbone.

Personal Life

While Nancy enjoys a number of hobbies including knitting, sewing, quilting, woodworking, gardening, cooking and reading, her mainstay is taking daily walks and hikes in our magnificent Lake County. Despite once running into a bear on the trail a mile away from her car without a soul in sight (but armed with bear spray and trekking poles, both of which she fortunately never had to use), she still loves to hit the trails!