Nancy Landon Kassebaum

Nancy Josephine Landon was born on July 29, 1932 to Alfred Mossman Landon and Theo Cobb Landon in Topeka, Kansas. She lived her early years in the Potwin neighborhood, attending Potwin Elementary School and spending many happy days with her brother, Jack, playing on the sandbars of the Kaw River and adventuring around Gage Park. Together with lifelong friend Betty Carmean, the three established the Tiny Tots Pet Shop out of their shed on Westchester Road. 

She graduated from Topeka High School in 1950 and the University of Kansas in 1954, earning a degree in political science and contributing to campus as an active member of All Student Council, Mortar Board, and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Nancy worked at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City as a receptionist for one year after graduation. In 1956, she wed her first husband, Phil Kassebaum, in Topeka, and they moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he completed a law degree and she earned a master’s in diplomatic history at the University of Michigan. They returned to Kansas in 1957 and started their family: John (1957), Linda (1958), Richard (1960), and William (1962). 

Raised in the unavoidable shadow of her father, former Kansas Governor and 1936 Republican Presidential nominee Alf Landon, Nancy recognized that politics was meant to be about public service. This was a guiding principle when she ran in 1972 for a seat on the Maize school board and won, additionally serving as a local 4-H leader and volunteering with the League of Women Voters in Wichita. She went to work in Washington, D.C. for Senator James Pearson in 1975 as a constituent services staffer. She separated from her first husband, Phil, the same year. Senator Pearson announced his retirement in 1978, and Nancy decided to run for his seat. She carried just over 30% of the vote in a crowded Republican primary field and won the general election against Democrat Bill Roy by more than 10 points. She returned to Washington as a United States Senator. 

As a Senator, Nancy was known to focus on the issues and connecting with constituents rather than the fact that she was the first woman—without her husband having first held the office—to serve in the Senate after winning an election to a full term. She was respected for her independent nature, prioritizing honesty with Kansans over concerns about electability. Nancy found great meaning in her work on foreign policy and her bipartisan health care reform efforts alongside Senator Ted Kennedy, and later became the first woman to chair a major committee (Labor and Human Resources). As the only woman in the Senate at the time of her swearing in, she initially steered clear of the Senate dining room and had to trek to the visitor’s center restroom as there were only male facilities near the chambers. Her greatest legislative achievements included the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and establishing the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. She often said if she hadn’t run for office, she would’ve opened a restaurant. Her family still wonders what she would have cooked. 

In 1995, Nancy announced she would not seek reelection and retired from the Senate at the end of her third term, recognizing it was time to turn over the seat while citing plans to spend more time with family. She left office in January 1997. 

Nancy married the Honorable Howard H. Baker of Tennessee in December 1996. After his selection as Ambassador to Japan (2001-2005), the couple split their time between Huntsville and Burdick until 2014, when Howard passed and Nancy returned to Kansas permanently. 

Nancy died on August 21, 2026, in Manhattan, Kansas.

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, two of her children, Richard (2008) and Linda (2020), brother Jack, half-sister Peggy Mills, and Howard Baker. 

She is survived by two of her children, Bill (Jennifer) and John (Sandra), stepchildren Cissy and Darek (Karen) Baker, seven grandchildren: Kristian (Lucy), Margot, Theo, Elsa, Eliza (Austin), Philip, and Nellie (Austin), two great-grandchildren, nieces Barbie Byers, Mary Weil (David), and Mary Henderson (Jeff), as well as many extended family members, beloved staff, and lifelong friends who provided immense support, grace, and humor throughout a long life well lived.

A special appreciation is extended to the many caregivers who provided a safe and comfortable final months of life for Nancy in her favorite place.

Nancy committed significant attention to organizations across Kansas throughout her life, including the Kansas 4-H Foundation and the Capper Foundation. In lieu of flowers, please consider a charitable gift to these organizations in Nancy’s honor. They may be sent in care of Sawyer Funeral Home, PO box 273, Council Grove, KS 66846.  A private, family-only service will be held at a later date.