Nancy McDougald Dickson, 89, of Little Silver, passed away July 31, 2024, after a short illness. Nancy was born Sept. 17, 1934, to Frank Alexander McDougald and Nancy “Nonie” Haight McDougald in New York and spent her formative years in Englewood. She graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School in 1952 where she was captain of both the varsity basketball and tennis teams and was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997. She went on to study physical education at Skidmore College where she graduated in 1956.
The family spent summers in Kennebunkport, Maine, at her childhood home, Fairhaven. She enjoyed time with family and friends on the beach and in competitive tennis matches. An avid tennis and platform tennis (“paddle”) player, Nancy won numerous tournaments at the Seabright Lawn Tennis & Cricket Club and the Kennebunk River Club. She was a Women’s Master’s (50+) Platform Tennis National Champion twice, in 1986 and 1989. Aside from her outstanding playing record, she taught paddle clinics for years to youngsters and adults in central New Jersey.
Nancy became an empty nester in the early 1990s and began refereeing both high school field hockey and track and field for the State of New Jersey. In 1993, she was named New Jersey’s Outstanding Field Hockey Official. An avid gardener, Nancy was president of the Rumson Garden Club from 1998 to 2000.
Nancy leaves a legacy of being a devoted wife, loving mother, wonderful grandmother and a true friend. She is survived by her husband David and her three children, David Jr. of Greenwich, Connecticut, Peter of Rumson, and Thomas of Darien, Connecticut; her daughters-in-law, Meline Dickson, Jennifer Dickson and Ann Dickson; and 10 grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.
Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank, has been entrusted with the arrangements.
The article originally appeared in the August 15 – 21, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
