Nancy Burgess was born in Winston Salem, NC.  Her parents were Troy and Eva Burgess. She had one sister, Jacqueline, who was eight years older than she. Her father worked for Reynolds Tobacco. She and her father were very close.  He passed away when she was just sixteen years old. My mother relayed the story of her father waiting all day until she came home in order to say good bye to her before he died a half an hour later.  After her father passed, their family life became much more difficult. Her mother had to get a job, and her sister had to drop out of college to help support the family.  As a senior in high school my mother won the awards for "Writing the Fastest Short Hand"  and being the "Fastest Typist" in the entire high school.   She was soon recruited by the government to come to Washington, DC to help with the WWII efforts.  She became a secretary at the Pentagon.  

      Her roommate Linda Conrad was dating Robert Scott also from Winston Salem, NC. Robert Scott was Buddy's Harris's best friend from the navy.  He set Nancy and Buddy up on a blind date.  Mr. Scott knew what he was doing because they were married over sixty years.  Buddy Harris was the love of Nancy's life.  She adored him.

      They had four children--Jennifer, Gail, Jeff and Leslie.  They had six grandchildren--George, Randy, Eva, Clare, Nicholas and Julia.   They had a very successful business together.  As a young woman, Mrs. Harris was ahead of her time in many ways.  She was a vegetarian, she had her own car, and she she was a professional woman.  This was unusual for the suburds in the 1960's. Not only did she work full-time, she also handled all of the books-ie., taxes, payroll, book-keeping for the largest typography shop in DC.  For many years, there were over forty employees, and this was when all paperwork was done by hand. She had a keen aptitude for both numbers and words.  She was a voracious reader, who visited the library every Saturday for new books.  Not only was she a professional working woman, she also handled a busy household and raised four very active children. She made lunches, she helped with homework, but most importantly, she listened.  She would always listen.  She had a wonderful sense of humor and she knew how to have a good time.  She had an amazing knack for seeing the irony in life. She loved to go out and have a glass of wine and laugh at life.  She was a kind, generous woman. She will always be missed and loved dearly!