Nancy Cassels died June 10, 2012, of a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 60 and had served as 1973’s class secretary since 1993, a role she cherished and did so well. Thank you, Nancy, for giving so selflessly to our class.
Nancy was born June 16, 1951, and grew up in Glen Rock, N.J. She attended Douglass College of Rutgers University for two years and then transferred to Princeton.
She majored in English and belonged to Quadrangle Club.
Nancy had lived in Toronto since marrying Michael Cassels in 1978 and retained Canadian residency when their marriage ended. She was past president of the Princeton Alumni Association of Canada.
Nancy was an advocate of the importance of motherhood and worked on behalf of the home-birth movement in the 1980s. A fashion model in her teens, Nancy became a designer of hand knitwear. She earned the high honor of Canadian Master Knitter and created designs for publishers including Vogue and Knit Simple. She also was a published author of poetry and short stories.
Nancy is survived by her daughters, Tracy and Brett Cassels; Tracy’s husband, Brian Sword; her son, John Cassels; granddaughter Madeleine Cassels-Sword; and her mother, Barbara Reed. She was loved and will be missed by all who knew her.