Nancyann Brandt DeBussey passed away peacefully on October 23, 2024 at her home in Wilmington, Delaware. Nancy was born on December 13, 1943 in Teaneck, NJ to Doris May Greene Brandt and John Edward Brandt. She grew up attending Marble Collegiate Church in NYC. As a child, she was a model and actress. She graduated from Hackensack High School in 1962 and Marietta College in Ohio with a Bachelors of Arts in English with a minor in German in 1966. Nancy was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
Nancy and her former husband (also deceased) raised three children in Convent Station, NJ: Melissa (Lance) Sayward of Peru, NY, Katherine (John) Snyder of Wilmington, DE and Jonathan (Hai) Stewart of Warrenton, VA. While her children were young, she sold a line of personally sewn clothing, along with handknit baby booties, sweaters, and hats under the name Nancy’s Fancies. She loved to gather with family and friends. This led to her other entrepreneurial adventure, Nans Pans, a successful catering business. She entered the formal workforce as an editor for a local map company and then spent the rest of her life happily editing documents for work and family. Following her time at Assumption School (Morristown, NJ) as the school secretary and 8th grade creative writing and English teacher, she worked for Formosa Plastics (NJ) where her tasks included turning roughly translated documents into polished English. When she was not editing professionally, she enjoyed helping her grandchildren with their writing projects and assignments.
Although she did not ever formally publish her work, she loved to write full length novels, poetry and musicals. Over the years she was a member of several writing circles. Nancy loved researching the family history and was proud of a chart she made going back one thousand years. She was a collector of the family lore. She was equally fond of tending her flower and herb gardens, listening to classical music and reading.
She adored her grandchildren and affectionately gave each of them a dumpling name. Later in life, she lived for a time with each of her children. In her final year of life, she was lovingly cared for by her granddaughters Dr. Marie Snyder and Allison Snyder in their Wilmington home.
Much of her adult life she was a member of and attended a variety of Methodist churches. She is survived by her three children: Melissa, Katherine, and Jonathan; fourteen grandchildren: Marie, Allison, Liam, Grace, Kristen, Gideon, Carlie, Miriam, Maisey, Nathaniel, Holly, Julie, Collin and Owen; many cousins including Barbara Ross, Todd Vennik, Ginny Blackman, Robert Robyn, Bonnie Jean Robyn, Larry Greene, Joan LaBar, Allen Greene, Bett Stiefel, Sue Taggart, Tim Greene, Marcia Olenchock, Jim Greene, Bill Greene, Dick Greene, Linda Carriero, David Greene, Bruce Greene, Steve Nevotny and her dearest friend and sister by heart Ruth Hashim.
She is predeceased by her parents, her mother’s second husband Maxamillian Anberg, cousin Ronald Greene, her beloved aunts and uncles, especially Jean, Caroline, and Lucille with whom she spent many hours crafting, and two grandchildren Adam and Rosie.
Funeral services will be held privately for family and friends with internment at the George Washington Memorial Park at 2pm on Friday November 1, 2024.
For online condolences visit: www.mccreryandharra.com
