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July 21, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday, July 26, 2013 from 2-4 & 6-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Saturday, July 27, 2013 from the funeral home, then to St. Mary’s RC Church, Pompton Lakes, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.
Nancy L. Pankow Brennan, age 54 of Pine Brook, NJ died peacefully on Sunday, July 21, 2013. She had courageously battled cancer for two years.
Nancy grew up in Pompton Lakes and graduated from Pompton Lakes High School with the class of 1977. She attended Taylor Business Institute in Paramus, training as a secretary. She began working at GAF, Corporation in Wayne before joining Orange & Rockland Electric, where she worked for nearly fifteen years. All of this prepared her for her most challenging career; full-time mom. Even still, she found the time and energy for part-time work too. She baby-sat for many children, did data entry at home for Compusys, and worked part-time for a Private Investigator. She was a very industrious woman and was always keeping herself busy and her mind sharp. Just recently, before becoming ill, she had been working with Siemens Industry in Pine Brook.
Nancy enjoyed watching The Young and the Restless, her favorite soap. She also loved to read and her second home was the Montville Library. She was a voracious reader and had read through perhaps more than a thousand books. She could bring home a 500 page novel and finish it by the next day! She was simply an amazing reader. Next to that, she looked forward to going through the Sunday coupons, clipping and organizing them all, and then shopping! She probably should have owned stock in Shop Rite, arguably her next favorite place to go, because she was there so often. Nancy was a very good baker too, and her Christmas cookies, chocolate-chip cookies and brownies were fantastic. She was a good cook and her family will attest that she could put together some great meals. But her cooking talents hadn’t always existed for her, evolving over the years. In an early recipe she made for her husband Rich, she mistakenly added sweet & condensed milk to her meatloaf. It was terrible, of course, and she never made that mistake again. However, her meatloaf is now and forever affectionately known as “sweet & condensed meatloaf.” Her canned vegetable stew was something of treat as well.
Nancy was a kind and selfless person; always worried about the wellbeing of everyone else. She was always concerned that her husband and kids were well fed and taken care of, especially so while she was sick. Recently, while receiving treatment in the hospital, she ordered out for food. Of course, the food wasn’t for herself – it was for the nursing staff who she thought needed a good meal. She had called Vitali’s and ordered several of the “working mother specials” for all of the nursing staff. She had the most amazing smile, and had a fabulous ability to laugh at herself and get the rest of the family laughing along with her!
Nancy met her husband Rich at a dinner dance hosted by St. Mary’s RC Church. Although Nancy was at the dance with another guy, Rich struck up a conversation with her anyway. Knowing that Nancy worked with his mother at GAF, they had some common ground and their conversation was innocent enough. Nancy’s date did comment to her later in the evening; “I think that guy likes you.” Sometime later they enjoyed their first date which led to their marriage on April 27, 1986. They honeymooned in Hawaii, which Rich says was a wonderful time. Since then, they have lived in Mahwah, Waldwick and Pompton Lakes before settling in Pine Brook in 2003. They have enjoyed the adventure of raising three children together and recently celebrated twenty seven years of marriage. They vacationed every summer at the Jersey Shore where Nancy’s favorite spot was Island Beach State Park. She recently told Rich that she really wanted to get back to the beach one more time – even if she could only put her feet in the water.
Nancy is survived by her husband Richard of Pine Brook, three children; Matthew, Meghan and Colleen, all of Pine Brook, her sisters; Carol Pankow of Oak Ridge, NJ, Suzanne Gaffney and her husband Ray of Hamburg, NJ, and Amy Haggerty and her husband Dean of Wantage, NJ, her parents; Charles and Roberta Pankow of Pompton Lakes, NJ, two sister-in-laws; Maureen Tencza of Riverdale, NJ, Sharon Brennan of Highland Lakes, NJ, three brother-in-laws; Andrew Brennan and Andrea of Haledon, NJ, Joseph Brennan and his wife Beth of Doylestown, PA, and Bill Uhl of Dingman’s Ferry, PA, as well as many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by sister-in-law; Rosemary Uhl in 2011, and by her brother-in-law; John Brennan in 2011.
As expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Nancy’s memory to St. Mary’s RC Church, 17 Pompton Ave., Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday, July 26, 2013 from 2-4 & 6-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Saturday, July 27, 2013 from the funeral home, then to St. Mary’s RC Church, Pompton Lakes, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.
July 21, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday, July 26, 2013 from 2-4 & 6-9 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 9 AM on Saturday, July 27, 2013 from the funeral home, then to St. Mary’s RC Church, Pompton Lakes, where at 10 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.
Nancy L. Pankow Brennan, age 54 of Pine Brook, NJ died peacefully on Sunday, July 21, 2013. She had courageously battled cancer for two years.
Nancy grew up in Pompton Lakes and graduated from Pompton Lakes High School with the class of 1977. She attended Taylor Business Institute in Paramus, training as a secretary. She began working at GAF, Corporation in Wayne before joining Orange & Rockland Electric, where she worked for nearly fifteen years. All of this prepared her for her most challenging career; full-time mom. Even still, she found the time and energy for part-time work too. She baby-sat for many children, did data entry at home for Compusys, and worked part-time for a Private Investigator. She was a very industrious woman and was always keeping herself busy and her mind sharp. Just recently, before becoming ill, she had been working with Siemens Industry in Pine Brook.
Nancy enjoyed watching The Young and the Restless, her favorite soap. She also loved to read and her second home was the Montville Library. She was a voracious reader and had read through perhaps more than a thousand books. She could bring home a 500 page novel and finish it by the next day! She was simply an amazing reader. Next to that, she looked forward to going through the Sunday coupons, clipping and organizing them all, and then shopping! She probably should have owned stock in Shop Rite, arguably her next favorite place to go, because she was there so often. Nancy was a very good baker too, and her Christmas cookies, chocolate-chip cookies and brownies were fantastic. She was a good cook and her family will attest that she could put together some great meals. But her cooking talents hadn’t always existed for her, evolving over the years. In an early recipe she made for her husband Rich, she mistakenly added sweet & condensed milk to her meatloaf. It was terrible, of course, and she never made that mistake again. However, her meatloaf is now and forever affectionately known as “sweet & condensed meatloaf.” Her canned vegetable stew was something of treat as well.
Nancy was a kind and selfless person; always worried about the wellbeing of everyone else. She was always concerned that her husband and kids were well fed and taken care of, especially so while she was sick. Recently, while receiving treatment in the hospital, she ordered out for food. Of course, the food wasn’t for herself – it was for the nursing staff who she thought needed a good meal. She had called Vitali’s and ordered several of the “working mother specials” for all of the nursing staff. She had the most amazing smile, and had a fabulous ability to laugh at herself and get the rest of the family laughing along with her!
Nancy met her husband Rich at a dinner dance hosted by St. Mary’s RC Church. Although Nancy was at the dance with another guy, Rich struck up a conversation with her anyway. Knowing that Nancy worked with his mother at GAF, they had some common ground and their conversation was innocent enough. Nancy’s date did comment to her later in the evening; “I think that guy likes you.” Sometime later they enjoyed their first date which led to their marriage on April 27, 1986. They honeymooned in Hawaii, which Rich says was a wonderful time. Since then, they have lived in Mahwah, Waldwick and Pompton Lakes before settling in Pine Brook in 2003. They have enjoyed the adventure of raising three children together and recently celebrated twenty seven years of marriage. They vacationed every summer at the Jersey Shore where Nancy’s favorite spot was Island Beach State Park. She recently told Rich that she really wanted to get back to the beach one more time – even if she could only put her feet in the water.
Nancy is survived by her husband Richard of Pine Brook, three children; Matthew, Meghan and Colleen, all of Pine Brook, her sisters; Carol Pankow of Oak Ridge, NJ, Suzanne Gaffney and her husband Ray of Hamburg, NJ, and Amy Haggerty and her husband Dean of Wantage, NJ, her parents; Charles and Roberta Pankow of Pompton Lakes, NJ, two sister-in-laws; Maureen Tencza of Riverdale, NJ, Sharon Brennan of Highland Lakes, NJ, three brother-in-laws; Andrew Brennan and Andrea of Haledon, NJ, Joseph Brennan and his wife Beth of Doylestown, PA, and Bill Uhl of Dingman’s Ferry, PA, as well as many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by sister-in-law; Rosemary Uhl in 2011, and by her brother-in-law; John Brennan in 2011.
As expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Nancy’s memory to St. Mary’s RC Church, 17 Pompton Ave., Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442.
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