Nancy Charles was born in 1952, in Oakland, Calif., the middle child of Eunice and Glenn Wilson. She has two brothers: Thomas and Scott.

Nancy grew up and attended school in the East Bay until 1960, when her father, who worked for Kaiser Engineers, was transferred to England to work on the Volta River Dam project in Ghana, Africa. With that major life change, the entire family relocated so they could be together.

In England, Nancy attended school at an Air Force base near Hampton Court (Henry VIII Palace), then transferred to a local, English private school for two years. Her last two years were at Marymount International School in Kingston-on-Thames. The family took advantage of living abroad and traveled throughout Europe during this time.

In 1965, Glenn was transferred back to the United States, and the family returned to Oakland. In 1969, they moved back to England. Nancy returned to Marymount for her senior year in high school, graduating in 1970.

In September 1970, she made the decision to return to California and study nursing at Chico State University. (Her family also returned in December of that year.) During her time at Chico State, Nancy met Bill Charles. They were married in 1974, after Nancy graduated, and she moved to Boonville that same year.

From 1974 until 1981, Nancy worked as an I.V. therapist at Hillside Hospital/Ukiah Adventist in Ukiah, Calif. With three children, she was deeply involved in Cub Scouts, 4-H, various sports teams, and as a school classroom and site council volunteer.

Nancy also worked alongside Bill at William Charles Construction, as well as on the family farm, caretaking their beef cattle, hay crops, poultry, McNab Shepherds, gardens, orchards, and her children's many projects. Nancy also serves on the board of directors for the Anderson Valley Ambulance - a local, nonprofit organization serving Anderson Valley.

In 2000, Nancy worked with her husband to establish Charles Vineyard - 15 acres of Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Nowadays she is most often found in the vineyard - listening to the local radio stations as she patiently works on one of a myriad of tasks done by hand to ensure the quality of the grapes for this, and future, harvests.

In her rare off time, Nancy loves to travel, garden, read, and do crossword puzzles. She's also a wonderful cook.