Strafford, Vt. —
Nancy was born Nov. 23, 1927, in Jersey City, N.J. to the Reverend William LeGrand and Mary Bullington Tucker and sister Betty, and moved to Newark, N.J. shortly thereafter for the next 11 years. In 1940 her father became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Princeton, N.J. and there she attended Princeton High School.
At 16 she followed her sister to Randolph-Macon Woman’s College where she developed a fervent interest in national and international politics. Following college she moved to New York City where she became involved with a number of progressive causes, including the YWCA and the United World Federalists, where she headed the New York office. Nancy was an early and faithful supporter of Emily’s List, Planned Parenthood and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In 1952, Nancy married Leston Laycock Havens, a medical student at Cornell/New York Hospital. Two years later they moved to Newton, Mass. as Leston began a psychiatric residency at Harvard Medical School. By 1958, Nancy had four small children but still found time to volunteer with the League of Women Voters and with Head Start in West Roxbury. She was also active in the civil rights movement and educational reform in Newton. In 1968 she went back to work for the YWCA in Boston.
In 1971, Nancy and Leston divorced and she moved with her daughters to Pennsylvania where she married Thomas B. Gerlach in their Wynnewood home. She completed a master’s degree in Social Science at Bryn Mawr College in 1975 and went on to become Director of Research and Planning at the Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging (PCA).
Nancy and Tom bought their house in Strafford in 1980. Nancy retired in 1985 from PCA, where she was responsible for early advances in elder care. Tom, likewise, retired several years later as an executive at Turner Construction Company and they took up full-time residence in Vermont. They responded wholeheartedly to the strong sense of community in Strafford. Both were very active in supporting the United Church of Strafford, where Nancy served as deacon and a member of the stewardship committee for many years, and was always willing to assist neighbours needing nurturing and care. Nancy and Tom were engaged in the full range of theatre, music and the arts in the community and beyond.
Nancy discovered her passion for painting while still in Philadelphia and continued her determined pursuit of artistic development for the rest of her life. At the Main Line Art Center in Haverford, Pa. she took painting classes and served as its Board Chairman for three years. In Vermont, she was an active member of the AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H., a founding member of Strafford ARTWORKS and was a co-founder of Two Rivers Printmaking Studio in White River Junction, Vt. The landscapes of Strafford became the subjects of an impressive body of work in oils and pastels. She explored more abstract concepts in monotype prints. Her work has been exhibited in many group and solo exhibitions and is part of private collections in the U.S. and the U.K.
Nancy had an irresistible, sometimes irreverent sense of humor. She will be remembered for her social grace and charm, courage, integrity, her quick wit, her capacity for long and strong friendships, and her genuine warmth as a human being.
In addition to her family, Nancy was fortunate at the end of her life to have a dedicated team of carers, led by Jeanne Castro and Kathleen Danforth. She will be buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Strafford next to Tom and her son Jeff Havens, who was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 24. A memorial service will be held in her honor on Saturday, June 25, 2016, at 2 p.m. at the United Church of Strafford.
Nancy is survived by her sister, Betty Hendrickson; her children, Chris, Jenny and Sarah Havens; and her grandchildren, Hazel Monforton, Nicholas, Dominic and Benjamin Sando.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Strafford charity Neighbors Helping Neighbors, in care of Randy Coffin, P.O. Box 85, Strafford, VT 05072.
Funeral arrangements by Boardway and Cilley, Tunbridge, Vt.