Nancy G. Harvey, an educator and community volunteer who for decades sat on the boards of Union Memorial Hospital and St. Timothy's School, died May 1 of heart failure at Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. She was 92.
"Nancy was the salt of the earth. I've never met a more loving and gracious human being in my life," said Randy S. Stevens, head of school at St. Timothy's, a private school in Stevenson.
"She was the rock and pillar of the school, and gave her whole life for it," said Mr. Stevens. He recalled that when he and his wife, Marsha, moved from Massachusetts to St. Timothy's 13 years ago, Mrs. Harvey "opened her home and heart to us."
"Her death is a huge loss for our community and Baltimore," he said.
"Nancy was just a star and such a wonderful person. She was truly a gentle woman in every sense of the word. We have been friends since 1946, and that's a very long time," said Dr. William F. Fritz, a retired internist who lives in Ruxton.
"She had great abilities and a wonderful mind. She had such a gracious manner and an easy laugh and just made people so comfortable," said Dr. Fritz. "She had an enormous circle of friends and admirers."
The daughter of Brig. Gen. Henry M. Gross and Elizabeth Bailey Gross, a homemaker, Nancy Criswell Gross was born in Harrisburg, Pa., and was raised there and in Eagles Mere, Pa.
She attended the Seiler School for Girls in Harrisburg and graduated in 1940 from St. Timothy's, which was then in Catonsville.
Mrs. Harvey enrolled at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, where she studied child psychology. She then transferred to the Child Education Foundation in New York City to continue her studies.
Family members said that as a student teacher in New York, Mrs. Harvey learned a valuable lesson from a teacher in Harlem, who demonstrated how to create a positive learning environment through a kind but firm teaching style.
After completing her education at the foundation, she earned a bachelor's degree in 1946 from New York University and received her teaching certificate from the state of New York.
In the early 1950s, she moved to Baltimore and joined the faculty of the Calvert School, where she taught until her 1953 marriage to Robert Dixon Harvey. The couple lived in Baltimore before settling in Towson in 1958.
Mrs. Harvey's involvement in the community centered around Union Memorial Hospital and St. Timothy's School.
She joined the board of Union Memorial in 1953 and served for more than 30 years. She was elected board chairwoman in 1977.
Mrs. Harvey helped lead the hospital through an extraordinary period of growth that included design and construction of the North Building, which opened in 1975 on University Parkway.
She also vigorously supported the hospital's commitment to providing health care to underserved communities.
Mrs. Harvey joined St. Timothy's board in 1964 and remained on it until her death.
From 1973 to 1983, she was chair of the school's executive committee. She also served as a member of the board's executive search committee, land-use planning committee, strategic planning committee and development committee.
"We served on the board of trustees at St. Timothy's together," said Jean Finney, a member of the Class of 1954. "Her mother and daughter also went to St. Tim's, and she was always very interested in the school and wanted only the best for it."
"She was here at St. Timothy's for so many, many years, and she is one of my favorites," said Anne Swain, director of development and alumnae relations at the school. "Development was one of her particular interests."
"She was an exceptional person who always adhered to the highest standards and principles — that basically sums up Nancy," said Mrs. Finney. "She carried her share on the board when it came to accomplishing things. She also always had words of wisdom and gave sound, worthwhile advice."
In recognition of her years of work at St. Timothy's, she was awarded the Nancy Wadsworth Larson Alumnae Service Award in 2001, the Distinguished Service Award in 2008 and the Kate Ireland Award in 2011 for exceptional stewardship and leadership.
Her community work included Episcopal Social Ministries, the National Cathedral Association and the YWCA. She was also an active member of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer.
Mrs. Harvey was an avid gardener and had planted the rolling hills around her Lindsay Lane home in Ruxton with many varieties of daffodils.
She was a member of the Maryland Daffodil Society and the St. George's Garden Club. Mrs. Harvey had lived at Blakehurst since 2014.
"She loved to vacation at Fishers Island, N.Y., and at Eagles Mere, but she was very devoted to her many causes," said her son, R. Dixon H. Harvey Jr. of Sparks.
Her husband, who was a career banker, CEO of Maryland National Bank Corp. and a civic leader, died in 2015.
Funeral services for Mrs. Harvey will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at her church, 5603 N. Charles St.
In addition to her son, Mrs. Harvey is survived three daughters, Ellen D. Harvey of Philadelphia, Anne N.C. Harvey of Coupeville, Wash., and Jane W. Harvey of Seattle; a sister, Martha Gross Morrison of Harrisburg; and seven grandchildren.