CHESAPEAKE—Nancy Steele English, 83, died recently after a brief struggle with an aggressive form of lymphoma. She was predeceased by her parents, Finley and Georgia Steele, and is survived by her husband Parker English; sons David, Randall (Kimberlie), and Karl (Monica); grandchildren Cheyenne, Steele, Zane, Kross, and Elijah; her sisters Susan Gubitz and Penny Bliss; and several cousins.

Born in Elmira, New York, Nancy was a National Honor Society scholar and captain of cheerleaders at Thomas Edison High School in Elmira Heights.  While there, she also performed the female lead in the school's production of Oklahoma.  After graduating from Elmira College, Nancy taught public school art for several years before raising three sons with her first husband, Al Hamme.  During much of that time she also served as President of Volunteers at Ideal Hospital in Endicott, New York.  Nancy received a Ph.D in art history from Binghamton University in 1990 and then taught the subject at several other universities.  She retired from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas in 2012, having served as Art Department Chair for the previous ten years.  Many of her former students remained in contact with Nancy after she retired.

To support her interest in the history of African art, Nancy spent two summers doing research in Ghana.  Among other publications, Nancy co-authored two articles and two book chapters about a contemporary philosophical issue related to the history of Ghanaian art with Parker, a professor of philosophy.

Nancy and Parker relocated to Chesapeake, Virginia shortly after retiring.  Besides exploring many parts of the United States, they visited friends and toured extensively in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Vancouver Island, the Nordic countries, New Zealand, Cyprus, and Belize.  An active cyclist, Nancy pedaled more than 1500 miles of self-supported bicycle-camping with Parker.  She regularly presented papers to the Students Club and to the Torch Club of Portsmouth, Virginia, and occasionally volunteered at Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center events.

Nancy organized splendid dinners with discussions focused on academics, films, and current events.  She was an avid reader and used ink in completely solving most New York Times crossword puzzles.  She will be remembered for her unassuming, warm and friendly disposition as well as for her love of us within the family.

Details about a celebration of life will be forthcoming.

Friends are invited to share memories and sign the online guestbook at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.  They might consider memorial donations to the Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center, or to the Bulloch-English-Steele Scholarship Fund at Central Connecticut State University, New Britain (ccsu.edu/BullochEnglishSteele).  These scholarships are meant to encourage students to study abroad at an African university.