Ann “Nancy” Jones Barlow lived a full and beautiful life. She was born in Wilkes Barre, PA in 1937 to parents whom she adored, John Paul and Rose Baiz Jones. At the age of 4, Nancy and her family moved to Wilmington, DE when her father took a job at DuPont Company.
Nancy thrived at P.S. DuPont School. From an early age, she held lead roles in school and community theater. She and her beloved William “Bill” Barlow met in high school, and both graduated from University of Delaware. They married in 1957 and had two daughters, Ann and Allison. Nancy enjoyed a long career as a first grade teacher and reading specialist at Tower Hill School. To this day, it is not unusual to hear grown adults say she was their favorite teacher.
Outside of her career, she participated in numerous community service activities. She and Bill loved their time as Sunday School teachers at Greenhill Presbyterian Church. She was a docent at Winterthur and helped co-found the annual Holidazzle fashion show gala at Longwood Gardens to benefit DFRC. She volunteered for Hospice’s Festival of Trees, Stephen Ministries, and taught literacy to adults at Wilmington Library and tutored elementary children at Eastside Charter.
She was an avid supporter of Bill’s career as Executive Director of the American Cancer Society in Philadelphia, attending many events and benefits as his “better half.” After their retirement, she and Bill enjoyed winters amongst a vital community at St. Andrews Club in Delray Beach, FL.
Nancy loved children, family and friends, music, singing, gardens, cooking, entertaining and travel. A highlight for Nancy and her family were the trips she planned to Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, and for her and Bill, to Egypt and China. She also pursued a passion for researching the history of 19th century life on the Brandywine. She was fascinated by the lives of the DuPont millworkers and the expansion of local churches that grew out of the Brandywine Manufacturers’ Sunday School.
Nancy and Bill’s primary residence on the Kennett Pike in PA was part of the Underground Railroad—which Nancy studied avidly, and an historic site on the Chester County Day tour that benefited local charities. Their home was always a welcoming haven for friends and family.
She was predeceased by her brother Russell Jones, and is survived by her husband Bill, sister Barbara Knoll, her daughters, Ann Ashley (Patrick Ashley) and Allison Barlow (Tom Hoen), four beloved grandchildren, Blakely Ashley Larrabee (Yuri Larrabee), Patrick “Trip” Ashley (Lexi Saunders Ashley), Baiz Hoen and Penn Hoen, and four great grandchildren, Jackson, Patrick and Sophie Larrabee, and William Ashley, cousins and nieces and nephews.
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