Nancy R. Harvey
1933-2020
Nancy Russell Harvey, Born March 4, 1933, died March 14, 2020.
Nancy was born in Akron Ohio, the fourth child of Rev. Dr. James and Anne Russell. Nancy’s family relocated from Akron, Ohio to Methuen, Massachusetts when she was a child.
She attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and graduated with a degree in elementary education in 1955.
She married her college sweetheart, the newly commissioned army officer Richard W. (Dick) Harvey, and they spent the next 65 years of their lives together.
Nancy traveled the country and the world with Dick as he served in the U.S. Army. While doing so, they raised three sons. When Dick was a tank commander stationed in Germany across the border from the Soviet tanks in Hungary during the Cold War, she was there with him raising their sons. When Dick was stationed in Vietnam during the war, she returned to the U.S. with her children to care for them by herself while Dick fought for our country.
When Dick returned home, she worked tirelessly to reintegrate him back into his family and community. Nancy was simultaneously the glue and the catalyst for her family. She was the focal point that kept everyone in the family connected.
She always encouraged her children to be their best in life and their pursuits, no matter where it took them. Nancy was always a teacher and a lover of American history. She taught school at most of the locations to which the family was posted.
She delighted in taking her children and grandchildren to Civil War battlefields and was an avid collector of antiques and Americana.
All of her grandchildren fondly remember the 4th of July wake-up call of “Stars and Stripes Forever” to start the day’s celebrations.
When Dick decided to retire, they chose Berkeley Springs, W.Va., a place they had come to love from their many camping trips to the area with their kids.
Nancy earned a Master’s Degree from WVU, and then taught special education in Paw Paw, W.Va. for many years.
After retiring from teaching, Nancy served on the Town of Bath Council, where she was instrumental in establishing a historic district for the Town of Bath, in order to preserve some of the historic buildings in town. She also volunteered to perform interviews with veterans of WWII which were included in a book entitled Glimpse of our Heroes. This book was published by the Berkeley Springs Historical Society so that the veteran’s stories could be memorialized forever.
Her greatest sports passion was tennis, and she was an avid player and instructor for most of her life. She also loved golf. She taught all of her boys to play tennis, golf and racquetball. Later in life she loved bridge, and started the Berkeley Springs bridge club.
When not in the mountains, Nancy found solace and inspiration from the ocean. Her passion for the coast has been inherited by generations of her family. Nancy delighted in meeting people and learning about them. She routinely struck up conversations with complete strangers and enjoyed nothing more than a conversation with a new friend. Nancy always showered her dogs with love and affection. She was known around town in recent years for walking her beloved black pug, Winston. Nancy was a member of the congregation of the Berkeley Springs Presbyterian Church.
Nancy is preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings and their spouses, Doug and Lynn Russell, Jim and Ida Russell, Mary Russell Osgood and Dick Osgood, as well as her beloved pug Winston.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Dick Harvey; their three sons and their spouses, Richard J. and Coleen Harvey of Alexandria Va., Steven and Victoria Harvey of Apex, N.C., and Dean and Cathy Harvey of Dallas, Texas. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Sara Mai Harvey and her fiancée Patrick Jackson of Thomasville, N.C., Richard S. Harvey and his fiancée Lindsey Webster of Dallas, Texas, Beth M. Harvey and her fiancé Tyler Gunn of Wilmington, N.C., and Ian Harvey of Dallas, Texas.
The family plans a private memorial.
Online condolences may be expressed at www. helsleyjohnsonfh.com.
Arrangements are being handled by Helsley-Johnson Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 95 Union Street, Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
paid obituary
