Carola Nancy Griffith, who went by Nancy, passed away at age 77 on March 2, 2025 after a nearly eight-year battle with cancer. She is preceded in death by her father, Frank Czeiner; her mother, Nelly Czeiner; her uncle, Joseph Czeiner; her aunt, Helen Czeiner; and other extended family. She is survived by her daughters, Jessica and Stephanie Griffith; her granddaughter, Julianna Griffith; her brother, Gerald Czeiner; and many extended family members.
Nancy was born in 1947 in post-World War II Germany and spent most of her childhood in Delaware, New Jersey, and eventually Bermuda, where she attended high school and graduated as valedictorian. She had enchanting memories of her time in Bermuda and often spoke of this era as one of the happiest of her life. From the earliest memories of their childhood, her brother Gerry remembers her as the most wonderful sister: kind, empathetic, loyal, protective, and patient - qualities she never wavered from throughout their lives. She was also a wonderful daughter: respectful, hardworking, responsible, and loving; Frank and Nelly were very appreciative and proud.
After high school Nancy returned to the States and went on to receive an undergraduate degree in Education from the University of Delaware, graduating with honors. She then embarked on an approximately 35-year career as an elementary school teacher in the Brandywine School District, during which she also completed a master’s degree in Education from Widener University, again with honors. Nancy was a tireless, devoted, and conscientious educator who enjoyed devising unique and creative lesson plans for her students, with the goal of fostering in them a lifelong love of learning. She frequently shared her lessons with her daughters and, eventually, her granddaughter, who can attribute their own love of learning and reading to her.
Nancy was an immensely committed, attentive, encouraging, and supportive parent to Jessica and Stephanie, and she prided herself on exposing them to as many educational and valuable experiences as possible throughout their childhoods. These qualities persisted with the birth of her lone grandchild, Julianna, whom she adored, doted on, and spent much quality time with, including regularly visiting a variety of favorite places like Longwood Gardens, Bellevue State Park, Delaware Nature Society, Hagley, Winterthur, and many far-flung destinations and vacations. She was instrumental in helping to shape Julianna into the kindhearted, adventurous, animal-and-nature-loving young woman she is today, and Julianna returned the favor by helping a great deal with the caregiving for her beloved grandma in the final year of her life.
Nancy had a wide variety of interests and hobbies, including many outdoor activities like gardening, landscaping, long walks, and hiking. She transformed the outdoor property of her long-term home in North Wilmington into a gorgeous oasis of native plants, flowers, and delicious veggies and fruits. She loved traveling and family vacations, especially to her brother’s home in Washington, D.C., the Jersey beaches, and various parts of New England, where she took her daughters every summer of their childhoods. In 2020, along with her daughter Stephanie, she fulfilled her decades-long dream of moving to her favorite New England vacation spot of Bar Harbor, Maine, where they renovated a little house just a short walk from the water and spent much time outdoors exploring the town and neighboring Acadia National Park. They eventually returned to Delaware at the beginning of 2024 as her health worsened and she wished to once again live in the place that was truly home.
Nancy was an innately curious person, always eager to learn more about the world - and about anyone and everyone she met. She would frequently return from a simple errand like the grocery store with the life story of someone she had struck up a conversation with. She had great interest in and compassion for people from all walks of life, making her an outstanding friend to those lucky enough to call her one. Her curiosity and love of learning, including about sadder topics like the suffering and injustices in the world, led her to develop a passion for a wide variety of causes, especially those involving animal welfare and rescue, impoverished communities, and the environment. She instilled the same passions in her daughters and granddaughter, and she regularly made significant donations to dozens of charities over the years, most recently to help animals harmed by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Remarkably, she was doing what she could to help save animals’ lives even while nearing the end of her own.
Nancy’s family and friends were consistently amazed by the tenacity and bravery with which she faced her cancer. Her reaction to her diagnosis was not one of fear or sadness; rather, she immediately decided to commit to a mindset of positivity and purpose. Her zeal for learning about the disease, and treating it using a variety of methods and modalities, brought her not only to practitioners throughout the eastern part of the country but all the way to a cancer clinic in Idaho, where she unsurprisingly made fast friends with several fellow patients during her month long stay. She will always be remembered for the unshakeable strength of character that was revealed by her approach to her condition, and this strength remained until the very end.
Nancy invariably thought of herself as plain, average, and ordinary, not someone who was particularly special or memorable. Yet, the opposite was true; Nancy was extraordinary. She was a deeply devoted mother and grandmother; the best sister; a highly intelligent and creative student and teacher; an unusually committed and courageous cancer fighter; a fierce advocate for some of the least fortunate among us; and a possessor of an expansive inner life that shone through in a variety of ways. She embodied a level of grit and resolve that was able to carry her through multiple precarious situations in her life. The qualities she couldn’t see in herself, those closest to her saw in spades. Anyone who knew and loved her is lucky to have done so. She will be forever cherished, and oh so profoundly missed.
A visitation will be held from 1:30-2:00 pm, with a memorial service to follow at 2:00 pm, on Friday, March 14, 2025 at McCrery and Harra Funeral Home, 3924 Concord Pike in Wilmington. DE 19803. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Humane World for Animals (www.humaneworld.org) or the Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org).
