Nancy Ennis Shuman passed away on April 7 surrounded by love in her home, ready to be back with her beloved husband of 64 years, Jack, who passed away last summer.

Born Nancy Anne Ennis in Reading in 1934, she was the second of two daughters born to Anna Mohler Ennis Neely and Robert Ennis. Her elder sister, Betty Jean (Ennis) Stump, passed away January 2020. Their father passed away in 1937, with Anna marrying Nancy's "2nd daddy" Walter Neely in 1942.

In 1946, they moved to Bloomsburg, across the street from John H. Shuman Jr., "Jack." In 8th grade, their first date was a Boy Scout dinner dance, neither knowing they would spend their lives together. Nancy graduated from Bloomsburg High School in 1952 and Bucknell University in 1956 with a degree in biochemistry. Afterward, they married and moved to Manhattan, where Jack obtained an MBA and Nancy her RN at Columbia University. During that time, she was a visiting nurse in Harlem and other boroughs of New York City. Returning to Pennsylvania, she worked briefly as a labor and delivery nurse in Mechanicsburg and then taught nursing at Danville State Hospital.

Nancy and Jack had a son, Robert Neely, or "Bob," and daughter, Kati Anne. Their lives were filled with nature, amazing food, travel, a desire to learn and endless love.

Nancy had imaginative parties with animals and scavenger hunts, spanning acres of land. Her silliness with puppets drew in any child. Family time was usually outdoors, at Ocean City, N.J., Lake Carey, tubing in Fishing Creek, camping, skiing, birding and wintering in the Florida Keys, and "getting their woods fix."

Nancy was an enthusiastic volunteer in Bloomsburg. In the '70s, she got tennis star Billie Jean King to come and play exhibition matches, raising funds for the National Heart Association. She then volunteered to pick women up from abusive homes for the newly opened Bloomsburg Women's Shelter. Nancy started the Compeer program in the Mental Health Association, and was an ombudsman for the Agency for the Aging.
She had a renowned love for tennis and started a multi-county women's tennis league. Her team was the Bloomsburg Loves. She also coached the Bloomsburg High School girls' tennis team.

Nancy was a standout bridge player, with the remarkable talent to replay everyone's cards in her head to determine how she could have scored higher. Much to her family's chagrin, she never used those skills in Atlantic City!

She loved nature, tennis, dogs and family, especially her adored grandchildren, Robert Rees Shuman and Devin Merlene Shuman. Most of all, Nance loved the life she created with her best friend, Jack. In her last days, she spoke to him often, telling him how excited she was getting for them to move into their new house. In her last hours, she called to him to hurry up, get a move on and open the door for her. When he did, she peacefully joined him and, with no doubt, their beloved dog, Marcie.

A memorial for Nancy and Jack will be held later at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Shuman Mitochondrial Disorder Research Fund at Columbia University, via https://medicine.givenow.columbia.edu?alloc=17121