BROOKLIN – Nancy Garfield Rice, 75, died Jan. 28, 2010, in Blue Hill, shortly after suffering a stroke. Nancy was born Nov. 11, 1934, in Syracuse, N.Y., daughter of the late Gladys Sprague Garfield and Richard Milton Garfield. She attended Nottingham High School and wrote a teen column for the Syracuse Post Standard. She graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics in 1957. After graduation she taught at the high school level in West Islip, N.Y. She met David Hamilton Rice in 1957 in Thousand Islands, N.Y, and they were married July 11, 1959, in Syracuse, N.Y. They celebrated their 50-year anniversary last July. Dave and Nancy lived in Chapel Hill, N.C, for two years, and then settled in Norfolk, Va., where they spent most of their lives, before retiring to Brooklin in 2001. In addition to being an active member of the Junior Women’s Club and Norfolk Garden Club, Nancy was an active community volunteer, always committed to organizations that supported children. She served on the board of the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters and was an active board member on various school PTAs. She spent 12 years as a Girl Scout leader for both of her daughters’ troops, and together with the girls started a citrus business that raised money to fund trips to Switzerland, Mexico, Austria and Germany. This business is still in existence, proceeds of which support the Maury High School Foundation. She received the National Girl Scout Thanks Award – the highest-ranking Girl Scout honor given – which recognized her exceptional service. She also worked at Booker T. Washington High School, where she guided students during the college application process to secure scholarships and financial aid. Nancy is survived by her husband, David; two daughters and sons-in-law, Anne and Mark Engel of Stamford, Conn., and Lynn and Jeffrey Whitehead of Baltimore; and six grandchildren, David Gary Engel, Eliza Charlotte Engel, Jack Dunham Engel, Samuel Hamilton Engel, Avery Hamilton Whitehead and Haley Garfield Whitehead. A Mass of Christian burial will be prayed 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 231 Main St., Ellsworth, with Father Scott Mower, celebrant. In lieu of flowers, donations in Nancy’s memory may be made to the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast’s International Girl Scout Trip Fund, care of Sharon Laderberg, 912 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, VA 23322 or at www.gsccc.org. A fund will be established to provide scholarships to support girls’ international travel. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.
NANCY GARFIELD RICE
