Nancy Elizabeth Bliss Estes 1952-2024

Nancy Elizabeth Bliss Estes, mother, grandmother, sister, friend, and resident of Fullerton for 54 years, passed away on June 2 at St. Jude Hospital surrounded by her family.

Nancy was born and raised in Hawthorne, California to Marie and Adolph Bliss. She had two older brothers, Allan and Randy. From an early age she developed a deep love for music. Her childhood inspiration was Julie Andrews. She knew from the time she was very young that she wanted to be an opera singer.

She moved to Fullerton to attend Cal State University, Fullerton in 1970. There, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. Later, she returned to CSUF to earn her teaching credential in music education.
It was at CSUF that she met her husband and fellow musician, Chuck Estes. They were married for 30 years until his sudden passing in 2006.

With their combined love of music, they opened Estes Vocal Studio, where Nancy provided training for countless aspiring singers. Among the many talented students, Nancy taught through the years was the renowned soprano Deborah Voight.

After the death of her husband, Nancy began teaching music history and providing vocal training at local colleges including Riverside Community College, Norco City College, and most recently, Long Beach City College.

She also performed with countless local choral groups over the years, among them the Crystal Cathedral Hour of Power Choir, the Pacific Chorale, the Meister Singers, and the Camerata Singers. In addition, she had been a member of the group Tinbox Theatricals for many years and performed with them in their various seasonal musical showcases: Bloomers, Fall Fever, and A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

Nancy loved to travel. Though she didn’t get to every place on her bucket list, she was able to visit the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, Ireland, Wales, Kauai, and most recently had a memorable trip to New York City with her daughter, Gretchen, to see the Metropolitan Opera production of La Traviata.

Not all Nancy’s bucket list wishes involved travel, however. In October 2007, another item from her list was fulfilled: a pie fight in honor of her birthday.

Nancy was an incredibly well-read, artistic, sarcastic, kind, beautiful person inside and out. She will be deeply missed.
Nancy is survived by her daughter, Gretchen, her son-in-law, Tim, her one-year-old granddaughter, Fiora, and her stepsons, Erich of Costa Mesa and Matthew of Eugene, Oregon. She is also survived by her two brothers, Allan and Randy, both of Auburn, California.