Nancy Carnarius Jackson

Nancy Anne Carnarius Jackson was born on April 27, 1930 in Peoria, Illinois to Edwin and Mabel. She was their second child, with an older brother Stan and now deceased younger brother Rod. Nancy was an avid performer from an early age. She took years of dance lessons and was especially enthusiastic about tap dancing and she loved to sing. Family legend says that Nancy’s parents were approached by a scout who felt Nancy had talent like that of the popular Shirley Temple. But Nancy’s parents were uninterested in their young daughter getting wrapped up in show business and turned down the agent’s offer.

The Carnarius family moved from Illinois to the main line of Philadelphia, before ultimately settling in Princeton, New Jersey. In high school she was a ping-pong champion, the sport of her family growing up, as well as a top competitor on the high school tennis team. She attended the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio where she trained as a mezzo-soprano and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Voice. While there she met her future husband, Oberlin College student Charles (Chuck) Jackson. Following college, she went to New York City to pursue a singing career. Her first job was in a female trio at Radio City Music Hall. She also spent several summers performing at the famous Cape Cod Melody Tent in Massachusetts where she performed in musicals including HMS Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance, and Oklahoma.

Nancy and Chuck married and briefly lived in Pittsburgh before moving to Levittown, Pennsylvania where their two daughters Linda and Laura were born. Eventually, the family of four moved to Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Music and family were the life forces of Nancy’s journey and both were a constant for her throughout her life. Her voice was beautiful and expressive. In PA and NJ, Nancy performed with area opera and theater companies including the Philadelphia Opera Company (performing at the Academy of Music in Wagner’s "The Valkyries"), and the Princeton Opera Company. More than once, she performed the title role of Carmen in Bizet’s "Carmen" and performed leading roles in many operas including "Aida", "Madame Butterfly", "Rigoletto", "Amahl and the Night Visitors", "The Medium", and "Street Scene". Nancy also performed key roles in "The Sound of Music", "The King and I", "South Pacific", and other musicals.

She commuted weekly into NYC for over 25 years to receive on-going vocal coaching from her mentor. For over 50 years, Nancy was a member of the professional choir and soloist at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Trenton, N.J., where she also served on the Vestry, wrote weekly press releases for the church, and was a lay reader. For nearly 30 years, she taught private voice lessons on the baby grand piano in her living room. While she shared her love of song and musical technique, she also built long-lasting friendships with all her students.

Nancy had a beautiful family with whom she shared many hours of love and laughter. She will be forever in our hearts and remembered as a devoted parent and grandparent who lit up a room with her smile and warmth, gave great backrubs, and could be counted on to be our biggest cheerleader. She was wildly proud of her daughters and grandchildren. We will remember so many of “her” songs, but also how she loved photographing her family and the beauty of nature; exploring new places with trips to Europe, Alaska, Nova Scotia, Kiawah, SC, and gardening in her backyard. Ocean City, NJ was one of her favorite places where she biked the boardwalk every morning. Nancy enjoyed everyone she met—and if you asked her about singing, you were bound to get an impromptu voice lesson on the spot. In fact, it’s likely the angels in heaven are already getting a voice lesson from Nancy—lucky them!

Nancy leaves behind her former husband, Chuck Jackson (Canada); daughter Linda and husband Bill Mitchell (Longboat Key, FL); daughter Laura Novia and husband Fred Haas (Raleigh, NC); grandchildren Kevin Mitchell and wife Caitlin (Bethesda, MD), Cara and husband Chris Elston (Pittsburgh, PA), and Greg Mitchell (Arlington, VA); brother Stan Carnarius, (Ephrata, PA); several nieces and a nephew.

Memorial services to celebrate the life of Nancy will be held 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 25, 2022, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral located at 801 West State Street, Trenton, New Jersey.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601.