Nancy G. MacFadyen, 93

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Nancy G. MacFadyen, 93, of Falmouth and Cambridge, Mass., passed away on Monday, October 10, 2016. 

Born on November 29, 1922, in Boston, Nancy was the daughter of the late Herbert T. Gerrish and Edna W. Gerrish of Melrose, Mass., and the sister of the late Whitney Gerrish of Farmington Hills, Mich.

After attending Smith College, she married the late John A. MacFadyen Jr., and moved to Williamstown, where for 24 years she raised her family and later worked at the Williams College library. There she executed the interlibrary loan services, and also planned and directed the move of almost a million books into a new building. In the late 1970s she relocated to Cambridge, where she worked at Pathfinder International in quality control and creating a research library. Her responsibilities with this nonprofit family planning organization once took her to Lahore, Pakistan. 

Upon retirement, Nancy moved to Falmouth, the summer home of her youth, where she volunteered for the Falmouth Public Library. In later years she moved back to the Cambridge area to be closer to family. 

Nancy had a deep and abiding love of gardening, reading, music and the sea. A woman of great intelligence, breadth and curiosity, she was at home reading everything from James Joyce's Ulysses to Georgette Heyer Regency romances. She had a non-conformist, artistic streak combined with a whimsical sense of humor and joyous spontaneity. She will be sorely missed. 

She is survived by her three children, John A. MacFadyen III and his wife B. Jean Rosiello, Janet Cochrane MacFadyen and her husband Stephen Schmidt, and Jean Gerrish MacFadyen and her husband Jerold Harmatz; her three grandsons, James, Alexander and Christopher MacFadyen; and eight nieces and nephews.

Contributions in Nancy's memory can be made to Doctors Without Borders. Arrangements are being handled by Stanton's Funeral Home in Watertown, Mass. A private burial will be held at a future date.