Plan for the Future
Nancy Crane Heller of Basking Ridge New Jersey died on November 13 surrounded by family. She was 86. A memorial service will be celebrated at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township, 240 Southern Blvd., Chatham Township, on Monday November 25th at 2 p.m. A reception will immediately follow in the church hall. Arrangements are by Wm. A. Bradley & Son, Funeral Directors, Chatham, N.J.
Beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, Nancy Crane, was born on October 17, 1938, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Dan and Harriet Crane. She grew up in Cleveland and graduated from Hathaway Brown School in 1956. Nancy continued her education at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where she was a member of the Tri Delta sorority and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in French in 1960. A trailblazer for her generation, she went on to complete the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration, graduating in 1961.
She worked for Morgan Guaranty Trust and Standard Oil of Ohio before marrying Charles Heller. Their loving marriage lasted until his death in 2011. Nancy and Chuck raised their two children, Charles (Chad) and Anne in Chatham New Jersey where Nancy was an active and valued member of the community. She served as a board member, chair, or finance officer of several organizations including Family Service of Morris County, Junior League of Morristown, and the State Council of the New Jersey Junior Leagues. She loved singing from an early age and continued as a choir member of Chatham Presbyterian Church into her early 80s where she had also served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.
She was a bright addition to any social gathering and a joyful member of Fish and Game, the Perennial Garden Club in Chatham, the Mendham Golf & Tennis Club and the Harvard Club of New York City.
She continued to be intellectually engaged throughout her life – learning Spanish when her daughter spent a year in Barcelona, researching and presenting topics for the Fortnightly Club, listening to the latest lectures from her alma maters, and forever learning to play bridge. She supported her family in every endeavor: happy to lend an empathetic ear, to be company on a hike in Sun Valley, ID., to read to her grandchildren, or to just happily pet the family dog.
Survived by her children Charles O. Heller of Watchung, N.J., and Anne Heller Morrissey (Peter) of San Francisco and her grandchildren Louise Benton Morrissey and Timothy Crane Morrissey. Predeceased by her husband Charles (Chuck) Heller and her sister Patricia Crane Pope (Marty).
Those who wish may contribute in her memory to:
Cornerstone Family Programs, 12 Flagler Street, Morristown, NJ 07960
or International Crane Foundation, E11376 Shady Lane Rd, Baraboo, WI 53913.
