Nancy (Mellor) Wickenden, age 97, died at Sippican Health Care on June 9, 2012, after a brief illness. She was the widow of James William Wickenden and the daughter of Albert Lincoln Mellor and his wife, Marion Alden (Mason) Mellor.
Mrs. Wickenden was born January 29, 1915 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She was a graduate of Plymouth High School and in 1936, of Wellesley College. She taught seventh and eighth grade English and Mathematics in Plymouth.
In 1937 she married James William Wickenden. They lived for five years in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where Mr. Wickenden taught at Deerfield Academy. In 1942 Nancy and Jim moved to Marion, Massachusetts, where Jim served as Headmaster of Tabor Academy for 34 years. During those years, Nancy served in the library and in innumerable ways within the life of the school and its students, faculty, and staff. In her family memoir she wrote, "I loved my life at Tabor. It was a wonderful place to raise a family and mingle with an ever-changing population of young people and their parents. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the athletic events, attending concerts - even Sunday night vespers. My days were full, caring for my children, working in the library and hosting receptions and Sunday night suppers as well as frequent gatherings for the Board of Trustees. 1976 - and our retirement came all too quickly."
Both while at Tabor and in retirement years Nancy has been very active in the community of Marion. She was a founding member of the Penny Pinchers Exchange volunteers at the First Congregational Church Chapel. She served on the diaconate of the Church and held offices in the Sippican Woman's Club. She was also a member of the Marion Garden Discussion Club. She regularly played bridge, and was a fervid participant in a vast array of board and other party games with friends and family. She remained a gracious hostess throughout her life. She really enjoyed entertaining, insisting she was a better host that a guest! In the best and fullest sense of the term, she has been a matriarch to her family, her academy, and her community of friends.
Nancy was preceded in death by two sisters, Barbara (Mellor) Yates and her husband Allan Yates and Margaret (Mellor) Hall; a brother, Mason Mellor; and a daughter, Barbara Wickenden. Her surviving children are James William Wickenden and his wife, Martha (Titus) Wickenden of Skillmann, New Jersey: Jeanne Wickenden Lake and her husband Charles David Lake, Sr.; and Meredith Wickenden Ryder and her husband Frank J. "Jay" Ryder, all of Marion. Nancy is further survived by eleven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, with two more on the way, as well as many nieces, nephews, and their children.
A family interment of her ashes will be held prior to a memorial service in Tabor's Wickenden Chapel, named for James and Nancy, Spring St. in Marion on Sunday, July 8th at 12 Noon, with a collation following, by Tabor Academy in the Fireman Performing Arts Center Foyer. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the following endowed funds at Tabor Academy: James W. Wickenden Fund, Nancy Wickenden Library Fund; Barbara Wickenden Faculty Professional Development Fund: or The First Congregational Church of Marion, P.O. Box 326, Marion, Massachusetts 02738.