Nancy’s aviation career is marked by extraordinary achievements, including flying 50 different aircraft during World War II and accumulating some 8,500 hours in 103 different types of aircraft.

At just 23 years old, Nancy became one of the first American women to serve as a ferry pilot for the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), a vital organization responsible for ferrying military aircraft for the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, and Coastal Command. Between 1939 and 1945, approximately 1,300 pilots served in the ATA, of whom about 150 to 160 were women.

As one of these pioneering women pilots, Nancy logged 900 hours and skillfully flew fighters, bombers, transports, and various other aircraft. Her favorite, however, was the iconic Spitfire. Recalling the thrill of flying it, she said:

“The Spitfire was my favorite fighter; flying it was a real treat. As you open it up for takeoff, there’s a surge of power. You’re forced back into the seat and must make a definite effort to retain balance. As you get used to this surge, you anticipate it, make the correction beforehand, and hardly notice it on the actual takeoff. The hand is fairly tense on the throttle; the head is set ahead briefly to notice the direction of takeoff and any correction to be made. In a Spitfire, you look side to side, as you can’t see ahead at all until the tail is up. The rush of air whips into the cockpit, blowing particles up and around. The right hand moves according to the feel of the plane—the tail coming up, the slight pressure back, and the feeling of becoming airborne.”

After the war, Nancy faced the challenges of finding a flying job as a woman. Despite these obstacles, by 1947, she secured a position with an air service in Oregon, where she instructed, performed bookkeeping, participated in air shows, and dusted crops.

Nancy expanded her aviation credentials by earning helicopter and seaplane ratings, becoming the second licensed woman commercial helicopter pilot in the United States and the fourth in the world. Women helicopter pilots were so rare in the 1950s that an organization called the "Whirly-Girls" was founded to celebrate this elite group. Nancy was charter member No. 4 (today, there are 1,700 members in 44 countries).

In 1960, Nancy and her husband, Arlo Livingston, moved to Juneau, Alaska, where they owned and operated Livingston Copters on North Douglas until it was purchased by Era Helicopters in late 1977. At one point, Nancy was the only female rotorcraft pilot in the state. She later went on to lead the Helicopter Association of America, the precursor to the Helicopter Association International (HAI).

Unfortunately, by 1978, Nancy had to stop flying as her hearing had deteriorated severely due to nerve damage caused by engine noise. She was widowed in 1986, but five years later, she married Milton Stratford and moved to his home in San Diego.

Nancy's remarkable life and career are documented in her memoir, Contact! Britain: A Woman Ferry Pilot’s Story During WWII in England, published in 2011. In 2016, at the age of 96, she became the oldest member of the San Diego 99s, continuing to inspire generations of women in aviation.