Nancy Herr Black

NEW LONDON, NH -- Nancy Herr Black, died June 23, 2019, at Woodcrest Village, just one week shy of her 90th birthday. She was born July 1, 1929, in Providence and lived in Rhode Island for more than four decades. For much of her adult life, she referred to her age as “29” since that was the year she was born. She graduated from the Lincoln School in 1947 and Mt. Holyoke College in 1951. In 1951, she married longtime neighbor Rodman R. Black. While raising a family she worked as a chemist at Chemical Products Corporation.

In 1974, she and Rod moved full-time to their beloved home “the Black Forest” in Newport, New Hampshire, and worked together in a family business, Newmont Vending, until her retirement.

Nancy strongly identified with her Scottish heritage. She was energetic, spirited, and fiercely competitive.

She was a longtime supporter of the Richards Free Library in Newport, serving on the board and as treasurer for more than 40 years. She was a member of South Congregational Church in Newport and played in the handbell choir for many years. She loved to read. She loved the outdoors, identifying birds, just roaming around, and tending to the forest with Rod. Nancy enjoyed alpine and Nordic skiing, learning as a teenager and skiing well into her eighties, still using the same ski poles from the 1940s.

Nancy was very interested in fitness and was an avid tennis player, walker and hiker. She loved hiking in the White Mountains and she and Rod were longtime members of the Society for the Protection of NH Forests. She enjoyed many summer evenings at the Lake Sunapee Yacht Club with family members.

She enjoyed getting on the floor and playing with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Nancy also enjoyed a good game of cards, especially bridge. Nancy was known for enthusiastic, excessively loud cheering at her sons’ football games and her daughter’s field hockey games.

Nancy and Rod travelled to many places in the world, but her favorite place was home. In her final years, Nancy suffered from Alzheimer’s disease but always maintained her perky and spry demeanor.

She is predeceased by her husband, Rodman R. Black, and her brother, George D. Herr. Nancy is survived by her son David H. Black and wife Geraldine Black, her son Rodman R. Black, Jr. and wife Anne W. Black, and daughter Betsy Black and wife Cathy Menard; grandchildren Rodman R. Black III, Winton Black Jansen and husband Dustin Jansen, Ethan D. Black, and great grandchildren Flynn, Hayes and Tucker Jansen, and Patrick McCarty-Black. She is also survived by sisters-in-law Dorothea Black Butler and Mary Jo Herr, and is predeceased by sister-in-law Deborah Black Walker and brother-in-law Thomas Walker.

The family would like to thank Woodcrest Village Assisted Living for their loving care of Nancy in her final years, and the Lake Sunapee Region VNA for their support enabling Nancy to live at home for as long as possible.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Richards Free Library, Lake Sunapee Region VNA, or the South Congregational Church of Newport “Got Lunch” Program.

A service will be held at South Congregational Church of Newport on Saturday, July 20 at 1 p.m.

To honor Nancy’s memory, please take a moment to walk outside and listen to the birds or look around at the trees.

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