Nancy Pearce Charles

On Saturday, December 31, Nancy Charles passed away at the age of 90 at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, in Rockville, Maryland as a complication of COVID-19. Born in Dayton, Ohio, the daughter of Harry and Helen Pearce, Nancy graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in education. While spending spring break in Ft. Lauderdale, FL., she met Bob Charles, a young Marine whom she eventually married.

Nancy and Bob had two children, and spent ten years climbing the corporate ladder, moving from Illinois to Dallas to San Francisco, finally ending up outside of New York City in Weston, Connecticut where her third child was born. Aside from being a busy homemaker, Nancy was active playing tennis and planning events at Aspetuck Valley Country Club. Later, she served as the president of the Weston Garden Club. Her initiative was to repopulate native dogwood trees that had been decimated by a blight. Under her leadership, hundreds of blight-resistant dogwoods were planted and are still thriving in Weston now.

After thirty-five years of marriage, Nancy and Bob divorced and Nancy started a new life for herself in Cary, NC. She loved her home and the wonderful friends she made in her Williamsburg Commons neighborhood. She worked as a pre-school aid in the Methodist Children’s Academy. She rediscovered her love of watercolor painting and thoroughly enjoyed the time she spent with her painting gal-pals! Nancy loved her dogs, playing tennis, the beach and shopping at Talbots!

In recent years, after suffering a debilitating stroke, Nancy moved to Maryland to be closer to family. Nancy is survived by her son, Rob Charles of Charlottesville, VA, his wife Kelli, and her granddaughter Laurel; daughter Abby and son-in-law Will Smithson, of Austin, Tx and her grandson Pearce; and daughter Cynthia Andrade, her husband Mario of Germantown, Maryland and their family; and good friends everywhere she has lived. A private memorial service will be held later this year.