Im curious as to why the family and friends did not seek help for her, as I have stated before, these people usually try this more than once, and if they dont succeed, they try again until they do.

Comment #1 auburnite: Your assuming they didn't try to help her-very assumptive and cold hearted on your part and not an appropriate comment to make.

While I can not speak for her family, I am speaking from experience as a survivor of a family member who has committed suicide, intervention was tried on numerous occassions, to no avail. I have spent the last 40 years asking why and what else could we have done to stop him? I still have no answer to those questions. My heart and prayers go out to her family and friends, for they are left to live with the outcome of her choice.

Hey SNB. Maybe a little assumptive, but cold hearted? That's kinda rude don't you think. I appreciate the fact that you are sensitive to this subject but man, that was a little judgemental wasn't it?

Hey PlacerPal, I found SNB quite reasonable, and not at all rude. You on the other hand shouldn't judge SNB and her situation unless you've lived it. Tragedy deserves compassion.

Other than natural causes... people die everyday... does the manner how....make if more or less difficult for family or friends? Yes.. its a sad story... but again, there are many.

My sympathy and prayers go to the family and friends of Nancy Tibbitts.

I wish she had been successful in finding help. I am hoping that it was offered and not unavailable to her due to some arbitrary budget cut. From the entries of the people who best knew her it sounds like we have lost a member of our community who tried to make a difference.

My heart breaks.

This very sad that she was able to get enough help. My sympathy to her family. I think its time for some form of barrier to at least help slow people down if they are in a unstable or rash state of mind on the Bridge. Maybe if some form of barrier could at least slow down the attempts until authorities could get there.

I do know the family. They are a strong and caring family unit and tried everything possible to get her help, especially over the recent months. Mental illness is a disease like any other. Despite all the love, caring, and psychological, social and medical help that's possible, it's a tragedy that this relatively young mother became a victim of her disease.

My heart goes out to the family. I, too, had a family member commit suicide. What a sad story. It makes you want to know her life and attempt to understand what could drive her to this, especially since she had small children.

ya, unless you have walked in the family shoes...don't judge. Ive been there and i tried to help my friend. Took him to the doctors, the hospital and even call the sheriffs office for a 51/50 and nothing worked. All this i did alone, (his parents were in denial anything was wrong) I called his mom the day before my freind died and said he was hearing things, all she did was tell me to change my number. He shot himself the next day. Then she blamed me and asked me not to go to his funeral.

*friend

There is nobody to blame but this individual. She was obviously suffering from her disease and couldn't get right. To blame "arbitrary budget cuts" (see justice41 comments) or the bridge design itself is missing the point. Millions of people suffer from mental illness. Some fall through the cracks or don't respond to therapy. This is a tragic story that unfortunately isn't unique. I feel truly sorry for a family that mourns the loss of their mother. Finger pointing does no good at this point. We can all use this as a lesson for our own lives.

Mental illness is probably one of the most difficult diseases to manage, easiest diseases to overlook and the one nobody wants to admit having. This girl obviously had hope on the day she was talked down from the bridge, however, with many forms of mental illness, things can change very quickly.

One thing for sure...she no longer has the illness that drove her to want to end her life. She no longer has to live with the horrible feelings she had, maybe guilt, the fear she had at not being able to cope or fix things.

She was blessed to have people who cared for her. I have to believe that her suffering here was so great that out of Mercy, she suffers no longer. Perhaps, in memory, the rest of us can try to understand and maybe leave a door open to change our minds about mental illness.

If you want "lessons," then lessen the stupid design and put a higher railing on the thing, instead of just a ridiculously overpriced paint job and some truss reinforcements, if you're going to do a 70 million dollar retrofit anyway.

This is a difficult time for many families, this one included. Famililes are losing their homes, and jobs, stressors beyond comprehension. Many situations seem hopeless, and are without intervention. As I am reminded of Nancy's family I will lift them up in prayer, her husband, children, parents, and all the other relatives and friends that are left to grieve and try to somehow put pieces back together. I hope and pray her legacy will not be the way she left, but moreover the way she lived. Prayers to you the Tibbits family.

I happen to know the family and her husband did get her help. I think when you make a comment on an article of this nature you

should use a little compassion. Her friends and family are devastated and will always be sad they couldn't have helped more.

Mental illness is hard on everyone.

I have known Nancy and her family for over 25 years. I too was shocked to hear that she had taken her own life with one prior failed attempt just last month. However, I also know she was well respected, both as a member of the community, and by her peers at UC Davis. I also know how much her family meant to her, and how hard they tried to get help for her. As a mother of four myself, I know that this must have been very difficult decision, one that she struggled with every day. However, to her, the pain she obviously endured was very personal and without a doubt, unbarable. I am sure that in her eyes that pain and the daily struggles of her disease was more than the strength she had left to fight. I know that she battled with depression for many years and that she underwent multiple medical treatments and medications. However, even the most updated technologies and services can not help enough for those who suffer from the depths of depression and mental illness. However, I do know that she was a wonderful person, a loving mother of three great kids, and a loving wife to a very supportive husband. She will sadly be missed.

Auburnite made an innocent assumption. SNB1981 was very harsh with it. I was going to comment but PlacerPal took the words out of my mouth. Then Salamander (who probably IS SNB1981) joins the pious holier-than-thou squad. Lighten up. People express thoughts here. This is NOT the obituary column. A story like this always brings out the drama-trauma, crisis-addicts.

Concerned1962, This is just an awful story. I know it’s been told many times but for some reason this one seems to resonate with me. I pray for the family.

I have been a friend of hers for more than 30 years and am totally shocked by this event . My heart goes out to her family and friends. I grew up with her from the age of 6 and can tell you that if there were any other way out she would have sought it. She was an inspiration to us who knew her in highschool and throughout all our reunions and later years. All my prayers are with her family and children. You will never be forgotten.

Canyonrat

Do you think that higher railings would have stopped this individual? This was her second attempt. She was bound to commit her deed.

If you think higher railings would have stopped this individual, what about the lady that attempted suicide by throwing herself from the hillside beside the bridge? Should we put a fence there?

Dear TheReason,

who's finger pointing here? The woman was ill. I was voicing my concern that people with this illness not be denied help because of budget balancing measures! These cuts hurt people who need help. It is a fact that mental health services have been cut to the bone in this county.

Yes,millions suffer from mental illness (and many do respond to treatment). Millions also suffer from near sightedness. Should we blame the individual for needing glasses?

Mental health services are being cut everywhere. They just closed the crisis unit in Sacramento. Now where are these folks going to go?

I respect everyone's opinions and comments but it is a tragedy all the way around. I feel that when a person is in that state of mind where they feel there is no other solution...they're gonna do what they set out to do and no one can stop them.

SNB1981: You are so correct. I had a friend who made multiple attempts and then succeeded in her desire to die. It makes friends and family left behind feel so helpless and guit-ridden that maybe we could have done more. If someone is intent on taking their own life, they will eventually succeed. It is so sad and I am so sorry for Ms. Tibbitts' family.

Nancy was a great person and her loss is such a tragedy to so many. I wish I could have done more. Her death affects me, my family , our community, her sons and daughter and husband. All those who knew her. I pray for all of us to help others. I knew something was wrong with her. She changed over the last few months. I should have asked more questions .... I may have made some difference . I should have tried harder .... I am left wondering if I could have made a difference if I tried harder. I will help her family for the hardest days to come. But the nancy I knew for the past 7 years would not have ended her life. She was ill. She loved her family so much.

Nancy was a incredibly wonderful person, and touched the lives of many people through her work. I only knew her for a little over a year, but in that time I was able to experience what an amazing person she was. She loved her family, and was dedicated to her work. She was my mentor, adviser and friend. It is truly shocking to me that this happened, and I am still having difficulty understanding or accepting it. I saw Nancy only two weeks ago--and I didn't suspect anything was amiss. I and my friends will miss her terribly, and her family is in our thoughts and prayers.

For those who may benefit from knowing, Nancys family will be having a memorial on Monday October 26, at the Saint James Church on B street in Davis at 11:00 am. It may be comforting to learn more about her, to get a sense of who she was and what she meant to others. Perhaps it will also be a sense of closure for those who are still struggling with this tragedy.

I dont think higher railings would do much- but maybe a tunnel type fencing....so they would have a long way to crawl across fencing before reaching the middle. Just so its not as quick and easy. Some people are afraid of a slow death with pills, a painful death with a gun shot. I think this is an easy quick painless (yet scary) way out & building something to make that all to easy suicide harder would help. Even if it helped just one person it would be worth it.

If people want to kill themselves and they aren't harming anyone else let them do it.

Cocerned1062, Thanks for the info. For some reason I am drawn to this young woman. I find it to be such a tragedy. How old are her children?

To wildfire13, that's the most insensitive comment I've ever heard about suicide. The woman was struggling with mental health issues that she couldn't break free of, and left a husband and young children alone and traumatized. Not to mention the rest of her family and the community that loved her. That's not harming anyone else? She was in extreme pain, had lost everything due to illness...

Please, have some compassion. And get a heart. How would you cope in her shoes?

Depression is usually managed very well with medication. Is it possible she stopped taking her meds?