Nancy Elizabeth Harman Dennis

Nancy was born in Paterson, New Jersey, the middle daughter of her beloved parents, Edgar Wallace Fox Harman and Edith Lillian Hagan. She was wife of 54 years, 8 months, and 12 days to George L. Dennis of Andover. She is survived by her husband, George, their daughter Elizabeth and Beth’s partner, Paul, their daughter Robin and Robin’s partner, David, her sister LeLoyce and Lee’s husband, Marty, her nieces, Nadine and Kimberly, and many Hagan and Harman cousins and extended cousins. She joins her beloved parents; parents-in-law; sister Diane; nephew, Steven; grandparents; many aunts, uncles, and cousins; and pets who predeceased her. She loved her family deeply. She often spoke with fondness of her “adopted” hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, where she spent many happy years in her childhood. She made friends for life at nursing school. She travelled far from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, joining her husband as they moved across the country and overseas before finally settling in Richmond, Virginia, and relishing the family’s adventures in Europe and Asia during their years as expats. She rode an elephant in a deluge. She rode a camel in the desert. She was a trooper. Yet she was always happiest at home, cherishing time with family and connections with her dearest friends, and enjoying the comforts of her many animal companions over the years. She instilled in her daughters a love for reading, crafts, puzzles, British TV shows, swimming (because she herself could not swim), and hospital corners when making beds. She was super proud – rightly so – of her 100-day Wordle streak. She adored The Amazing Race and Survivor, gateways for her to continue to experience the world when she could no longer travel. She was smart and she was funny. And she was so appreciative of the simplest things in life, opening our eyes to the power of gratitude. Her strength, love, caring, and compassion are an inspiration and a compass. In the face of her difficult and devastating experience of Pompe disease, which meant she was dependent on a mechanical ventilator since 1990, dependent on a wheelchair since 2003, and bedbound since 2019, she persevered with grace and grit, teaching so many others – most especially her daughters – the gift and the treasure of caring for another. Most of the time, she lived with her disease with a steely independence, nursing herself like only the most gifted of nurses can. Even as the end approached, she was guiding all of us in how to comfort and carry her into what comes next – what strength, what beauty of soul and spirit. Through everything, Nancy turned to I Cor. 13:4–7 as her guide: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” We would like to thank all the people who cared for her, at different times and in different ways – Trella, Karen, Christy, Rhonda, Alice, Brittany, Tina, Lynn, Janet, Taylor, Chiara, Dr. Gonzalez, NP Robb, and many others. We hope you know how much your care buoyed her. Today, we draw strength from so many wonderful memories of Nancy, our mom; she will be ever present as “she dances in the galaxy among the stars” (Elizabeth Kubler-Ross). We miss her profoundly, but we are so happy that she is now free. In lieu of flowers, she requested donations to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (https://www.komen.org). If you have a memory of her that you’d like to share with us, please do. George, Robin, and Beth Nancy’s note to herself in Gleam, yearbook of the Class of 1964 of the Paterson General Hospital School of Nursing – Dear Nancy, I'll never forget you and all the fun we've had here. I didn't know how to say goodbye and I can't, knowing someone as long as I've known you. It's been a hard three years but I knew you could do it! I'll always remember the many nights of sorrow and joy shared within these hallowed walls. Memories will linger on and friendships made will grow and prosper. Keep your chin up always and look on the bright side. Never lose hope and your dreams will come true. Forever, me