Laura M. Nacinovich

Laura Mae (Waldroff) Nacinovich, 86 of Oak Ridge, NJ, passed away on January 28, 2020 at Cedar Crest Village, Pompton Plains, NJ. Laura was born in Danville, PA and grew up in Shamokin, PA. She was the only child of Erma (Thomas) and William Waldroff. She was also the beloved wife of John Nacinovich, whom she married on June 18, 1955.

Laura had a lifelong love of her hometown of Shamokin, PA. She was a 1951 graduate of Shamokin High School. She received a Home Economics teaching degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and in her later years obtained a Masters of Elementary Education from William Patterson College.

Early on, she spent a relatively brief time working as a Home Economics teacher. But after a decade at home raising her children, she returned to work and found her true calling as a 4th grade elementary school teacher. Her elementary school career spanned more than 25 years, when she worked at both the Cozy Lake School and the White Rock School in Oak Ridge, NJ. She was a much-beloved and passionate school teacher, incorporating her love of history, art, music, and a genuine love of kids into her classroom. She was a writer of class plays, head creator/director of large class murals done by her students, fosterer of a love of reading, history and singing, and ruled her classroom with love, compassion and humor. During her own kids’ growing-up years, she was a dynamic Girl Scout leader, Sunday School teacher, and Junior Choir and New Covenant folk group leader at the Milton United Methodist Church.

Laura had numerous hobbies. Many used her artistic talents, including quilting, wood carving, creating hand-painted Santas and other wood figurines, and painting pictures in a Grandma-Moses-style. In her middle years, she discovered she had a real passion for genealogy, which utilized her interest in local Pennsylvania history and her desire to know her ancestors better. She happily logged numerous research hours at historical societies and court houses throughout central PA (pre-internet).

She delighted in spending time with her six grandchildren. She will be deeply missed by her devoted husband, John; her son Keith Nacinovich, his wife Michele (of Pompton Plains, NJ) and their two sons; her daughter Beth (Shuey), her husband Keith (of Harrisburg PA) and their two daughters; and her son Wade, his wife Amy Bay (of Portland, OR) and their son and daughter.

Visitation will be held on Monday, February 3, 2020 from 4 – 7PM at Goble Funeral Home 22 Main St., Sparta, NJ 07871. A service will be held on Tuesday, 10AM at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Northumberland Memorial Park in Sunbury, PA.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to the Milton United Methodist Church, 316 Dover-Milton Rd, Oak Ridge, NJ 07438; or the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N Michigan Ave, Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601.