Nancy D. Hartman, long-time Fair Haven resident, lost her battle with ALS Sept. 7 at home with her loving husband Larry by her side.
Nancy and her mother Diane Cross shared a very special bond. They enjoyed morning cups of coffee and bird watching from her Rumson home. She was predeceased by her father Franklin and her two older brothers Danny and David.
Nancy and her husband Larry raised their two daughters, Deborah Acerno (Thomas) and Theresa Pearman (Evan) in Fair Haven. Their childhood was filled with spontaneous camping trips and summer evenings at Sea Bright Beach. Nancy taught her daughters to enjoy the simplicity of the every day. She made a blueberry buckle and a potato salad that were second to none.
She will forever be a guardian angel to her grandchildren whom she adored: Charlotte, Adeline, Bennett, McKenna and Hallie. She loved spending time dancing in the kitchen, reading them books and watching them play.
Nancy will be missed by her mother-in-law Barbara, with whom she shared a love of reading; many cousins; her brother and sister-in-law; her nieces; and one very special aunt who was more like a friend.
Nancy was a proud EMT in the town of Fair Haven. It seems only fitting that this year’s Firemen’s Fair be canceled as it would be the first in over 40 years that she couldn’t serve seafood platters and watch the Ferris wheel come down with friends that became family.
Visitation was held Sept. 11 with a fireman’s service at 7 p.m., at Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank. An outdoor celebration of her life was held Sept. 12 at the Fair Haven Fire House.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Joan Dancy & PALS Foundation, which makes a positive difference in the quality of life of ALS patients and their families.
The article originally appeared in the September 17 – 23, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
