[2] As a 16-year-old, Ramey represented the United States at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, where she won a silver medal in the 100 meter butterfly event.

[3][4] In 1958 she set two world records in the 100 m and one in the 200 m butterfly; the same year she won five American and one Canadian national title.

Ramey-Lethcoe campaigned for the Alaska State House District 12 in the November 2008 elections, but failed to win the seat from incumbent John Harris.

From 1974 to 2004, the Lethcoes owned and operated Alaska Wilderness Sailing and Kayaking, offering guided trips in Prince William Sound.

[6] In 1980, Nancy Ramey-Lethcoe and her husband Jim moved to Valdez, Alaska to teach part-time at Prince William Sound Community College.

[7] In the early 1980s Lethcoe worked on the land management planning process for the Chugach National Forest.

[5] In 1989, she received the Celia Hunter award for work on tracking legislative bills related to the oil spill.