Nancy Ann (Greer) Hough died peacefully on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, in Majestic Oaks at John Knox Village, Orange City, Fla., after a lengthy challenge of dementia. She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Garry deN. Hough III, in 2007.
Nancy (“Nan”) was born on Easter Sunday, April 8, 1928, in Cambridge, to Frederick Wade and Eleanor (Fuller) Greer. She grew up in Belmont, graduating from Belmont High School in 1945. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Smith College in 1949. She traveled with her family, played the piano, was an excellent student and artist, and loved spending her summers at Girl Scout camps around New England. A Thanksgiving dinner in 1946 arranged by her mother Eleanor and Mary Hough, both of whom were active at the state level of Girl Scouts, led to an introduction to Mary’s son, Garry. Nan and Garry were married in Belmont on Jan. 7, 1950, and thus began a 57-year marriage and adventure of family, community service, and travel.
Nan and Garry settled in Longmeadow with their two young daughters, and Garry joined his father’s orthopedic surgery practice. Three more children arrived while Nancy built a life in her new hometown, becoming involved with community and social activities. She was an active member of South Congregational Church in Springfield, Junior League of Springfield, Smith College Alumni Club, Longmeadow Country Club, Hampden District Medical Society Women’s Auxiliary, and the Chirp & Burp Society. While Nan might join a group because it was expected of her, those around her soon found out this shy woman was actually very talented and astute, soft of demeanor but sharp of mind. She was often asked to become a leader within the organizations, frequently as the treasurer. Garry and Nan traveled extensively for both pleasure and Garry’s medical career, visiting throughout the U.S., the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Nan was an accomplished seamstress for herself and her children, loved to garden, took pride in having designed her family’s home, played bridge, did needlepoint, loved to swim (when her family wasn’t insisting she be a lifeguard) and was a champion candlepin bowler. Encouraged by family and friends, Nan always loved astronomy, from viewing the 1932 solar eclipse to watching man land on the Moon; she kept a telescope handy and woke her children up in the early morning to watch NASA launches. The Hough house was known for many years as a place where Nan’s children’s friends could gather for fun, but if a thoughtful ear was needed, they would find that, too.
When Garry retired in 1986, they renewed their interest in international medicine by volunteering for Orthopedics Overseas, living briefly in Malawi and Peru. The bug had first bit in 1974, when Garry designed a sabbatical volunteering for CARE to teach and practice orthopedic surgery in Indonesia for four months;they brought their two youngest children along for an eye-opening experience living and learning in Southeast Asia. Retirement also saw Nan’s hometown change once again, as they split their time between Marathon, Fla., and Vineyard Haven. Later, as Garry’s health declined, they moved from Marathon to Orange City, where they lived in the John Knox Village, becoming full-time residents there in the early 2000s. Wherever Nan lived, friendships grew and connections strengthened, until dementia took its toll, first with Garry and then with herself.
Nan leaves behind her five children, Margaret (“Peggy”/“Meta”) of Corvallis, Ore., Alice Robinson and her husband Tom of Vineyard Haven, Virginia (“Ginny”) Matchak and her husband John of Norwalk, Conn., Richard (“Rick”) and his wife Karoline of Mason, N.H., and Hilda Brown and her husband Richard of Gainesville, Fla.; her three grandchildren, Tim, Brian, and Michael Robinson; her four stepgrandchildren Jennifer Mata (Victor), A.W. Woolfrey (Whitney), Chris Brown (Amanda), and Tim Brown (Stacy); and by seven step-great-grandchildren, her brother F. Wade Greer Jr., and his wife Barbara, of Florida and New Hampshire. She also had a loving extended family of in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews, and their families.
There will be a service at the chapel at John Knox Village, in Orange City, Fla., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017, at 2 pm. Interment of her ashes will be held in Vineyard Haven in the spring. The family suggests donations may be made in Nan’s memory to Habitat for Humanity, Smith College, or any educational or charitable organization that lends a helping hand to those in need.
The post Nancy Ann Greer Hough appeared first on The Martha's Vineyard Times.