Nancy Spicer McCurdy

Nancy Spicer McCurdy, a 57 year resident of Newark, DE, passed away peacefully Wednesday afternoon, January 18, 2017. She was 91 years old.

Nancy was born Alma Eula in Charlottesville, VA on July 24, 1925 to Garland Hanes and Roberta Gay (Carpenter) Spicer of Charlottesville, VA.

She graduated from Lane High School in 1942 and attended Lynchburg College then graduated from the University of Virginia (UVA) with a B.A. in Education in 1946. Upon graduation, she taught English then was employed as a technician at the Textile Research Institute (TRI). She soon moved to New Jersey when TRI relocated, and there, in a local church choir, she met and married Wallace McCurdy Jr. on September 4, 1954. In 1959, they moved with their three children to Newark, DE where Wallace joined the faculty at the University of Delaware (UD).

Music was a particular passion of Nancy’s, beginning with many years of piano instruction during childhood, singing in church choirs and studying music theory and composition at UD during her later years. She also loved all things British and made several trips to Europe. Nancy devoted herself to raising her children, volunteering at church and supporting her husband in his various endeavors. She had a lifelong love of cats, teddy bears and chocolate.

As a college student, she joined the Kappa Delta Sorority. In the 1980’s she became a staff member of the Pastoral Counseling & Consultation Centers of DE. In later years, she was a member of the Thomas Jefferson Society of Alumni at UVA, a patron of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association and the Newark Symphony Orchestra and a Friend of the Grand Opera House (Wilmington). She was a long-time member of the First Presbyterian Church of Newark.

She was predeceased by Wallace in 2013 and is survived by her children: Laurie McKelvie and husband Bill of Shippensburgh, PA; Martha McCurdy and husband Peter van Kan of Madison, Wisconsin; Alan McCurdy and wife Linda of Johns Creek, GA She was the proud grandmother of seven grandchildren.

Blessed are those who walk hand in hand with goodness . . . Psalm 1

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm Saturday afternoon, January 28, 2017 at First Presbyterian Church of Newark, 292 West Main Street Newark, DE. Interment will be held privately in the Monticello Memory Gardens, Charlottesville, VA.

In lieu of flowers please donate to the Newark Symphony Orchestra, P.O. Box 7775, Newark, DE 19714-7775.