Nancy was born in southern California in early 1934, the younger of two girls.  1934 was the peak of the great depression, the worst of the dustbowl, and at the heart of events that lead to the Second World War.  Eisenhower’s “Fireside Chats” started airing on the radio that summer. 

Her parents divorced while she was still in grade school.  For the next ten years, the big house in Pasadena was a house of women – three generations.  Her mother worked as a real estate agent, and her grandmother actively took care of the house and the girls.  Both father and mother eventually remarried.  Nancy was a young teen by the time she had a stepfather.

Nancy lived the southern California life of fresh air, sunshine, and athletics.  They had a cocker spaniel named “Teddy,” and a goldfish that she would put in a container to “walk.”  She played the piano, and was an artist, recalling how on a trip with the family, her young-self airily announced that she would paint the lake “Paine’s Gray.”  She was good in school and skipped a grade, putting her and her sister only one grade apart and that much closer.    

Nancy followed her sister to college in Arizona.  They were in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority together.  With her sister’s entre to the sorority and social life, college was a lot of fun for two pretty girls.  She was seventeen years old.

In her second year, Nancy met Phil.  Phil was two years older, and in the same fraternity as her sister’s boyfriend (and eventual husband).  After a few months of desert “washing machine” parties and frat mixers, he proposed, getting down on his knee in an old miner’s bar at the top of the only hill in Tucson.  It was a bit of a harder sell than he had hoped - Nancy was not too sure about getting married so young, but she was sure about Phil, who was going to be leaving for Korea after graduation. 

She left college and prepared to get married at home, but the Army pushed Phil’s deployment date up, and the wedding plans were adjusted to take everyone cross country to Ft. Knox, Kentucky for the event.  They had some time together there, and back in California at Phil’s brother’s house before her new husband shipped out. 

Phil made it through the Tank Corp in Korea mostly intact except for a hearing injury and subsequently went to law school.  There were lots of other young couples in the married student housing, and the couple made some lifelong friends.  Their daughter, Cathryn, was born in the first year, and, always practical, in their last year, daughter, Barbara, who was carefully calculated to be born between mid-terms and finals. 

Nancy got her wish and her two daughters grew and remained as close as she and her sister were.  Every other year, the couples would have Christmas in either California or Arizona, where her sister lived, and the young cousins knew each other well.  There was also lots of time with Phil’s two married brothers in California and their families, as well as for beach volleyball and beer with law school friends, listening to the Tijuana Brass, Dave Brubeck, Barbara Dane, and Edith Piaf.

Phil did well in Law, and Nancy did well in finding and making good homes and dear friends.  When Phil came home and announced that he had an offer for a promotion, but they had to move to New York, their lives took an unexpected turn. 

Their kids were eight and eleven when the family relocated to the other side of the continent from everyone they knew.  As fortune would have it, there was one exception.  Phil’s oldest brother was working in New York at the same time, and he, his wife and two boys lived only 20 minutes away.  The kids were close in age and the families went skiing together in the winter, boating in the summer, and shared Christmas until the year that his brother was relocated away. 

By that time, Nancy had again made some excellent choices in homes and friends.  Her sister visited often, and Phil and Nancy joined the local country club.  Nancy was a good sportswoman – variously taking up tennis, bowling, paddle tennis and golf.  And there was always bridge, which was a passion for her entire life.  By that time they were listening to Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond, and Liza Minnelli. 

Phil was employed by a large firm.  There were three mergers before he ended up in his fifties and out of work for nearly a year.  But they made it through, and it turned out extremely well.  Phil ended up working for some former colleagues, and he was an officer of the company at the time it was profitably sold. 

Retired by 55, Phil and Nancy started traveling.  They visited Asia and the south Pacific, Europe and Africa.  Eventually, they decided to spend winters in Florida and bought a two bedroom bungalow in a PGA development in Palm Beach Gardens, where golf and bridge are serious past times.   Nancy added Majong to her skillset, Phil became involved in the community association, and they had passionate debates about politics. 

Eventually, winters became full time, the bungalow was traded for a larger house in a nearby community, and new friends were blended with the old.  There were still trips, and the youngest daughter got married in New York in 1997.  Music choices became Celine Dion and Pavarotti. 

For their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003, Nancy wanted to be the person to give the gift.  She and Phil had wonderful memories of trips to France, and she arranged for her kids, son-in-law, and “adopted” kids Paul and Diane (her son-in-law’s brother and daughter’s best friend from college) to do a tour of Paris, followed by a barge cruise down the Seine to Burgundy.  To this day, and for every last person aboard, this is the vacation to remember.  It is our “happy place” to go to and a good excuse to get together, drink too much Port, and reminisce. 

The last big trip was a cruise in 2009 with Phil, Nancy’s sister and husband, Nancy’s married daughter and her husband. The itinerary was Rome to Venice, with stops in Florence and the Amalfi coast.  The three couples enjoyed the trip immensely, especially the shopping adventures in Venice. 

In 2013, Phil and Nancy downsized from the big house to an independent living facility nearby.  They only had a few years there.  Nancy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer towards the end of the year, and had major surgery in Boston in January 2014.  She celebrated her 80th birthday shortly after the surgery, then her 81st.  She learned in June 2015 that the cancer was back and there was little time left.  She died peacefully at home, surrounded by her loved ones, on Monday, September 7th, 2015. 

Her husband, daughters, and son-in-law have benefitted from an outpouring of love and support from family and friends, for which they are eternally grateful.  We hope that you will take a moment to type in your own story of meeting Nancy, finding things in common, having adventures.  The more we share, the more she remains with us.

Love to All