Nancy Geyer Christopher

Surrounded by family and friends, Dr. Nancy Geyer Christopher passed peacefully at her home in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on April 15, 2026.

Among the many people whose lives were touched by Nancy, most think of her primarily as a kind, dedicated, enthusiastic teacher. Her true passion, though, was learning. Throughout her life, any topic she encountered was apt to spur a fierce curiosity that drove her to seek out context, connections, and ripple effects. The result of that curiosity was a body of work that includes two published books (Right of Passage: The Heroic Journey to Adulthood and The North Shore Country Day School: Seventy Years of a Community of Learning); three plays (on the lives of Sojourner Truth, Laura Bridgman, and Florence Nightingale); a memoir (The Madonna Project); and countless articles, courses, and reviews.

Nancy's formal education began in a Roman Catholic orphanage during World War II. At the time, her father, Robert Itnyre, was serving in the U.S. Army and her mother, Delores Itnyre, was a nurse in a nearby hospital and unable to care for her two small children until the war ended. That experience did not rob Nancy of her innate optimism. She went on to excel at Madonna High School, Mundelein College, Marquette University, Northeastern Illinois University, and ultimately Northwestern University. There she earned her Ph.D., studying the intersection of anthropology, psychology, religion, and theater. She wrote her dissertation while raising three children as a single mother.

While married to George Geyer, then a philosophy professor in New Hampshire, Nancy taught fourth grade in the small town of New Boston. She went on to teach night school in the Chicago Public School System and dance classes at Mundelein College, while pursuing an advanced education. During the mid-1970s, she became involved in the experimental theater movement in Chicago, and worked, both on and off stage, for the Body Politic Theater. When her marriage ended, she moved to Winnetka, Illinois to teach psychology and anthropology at the North Shore Country Day School. It was in Winnetka that Nancy encountered the Christian Science Church, and began what would become a lifelong study of Christian Science.

In 1987, Nancy married Lawrence Christopher; in 1990 she moved with him to Washington, D.C. There she joined the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), sometimes called the "domestic Peace Corps," where she worked for an adult literacy program. During the 25 years that followed her move, Nancy became deeply involved in community life in her Georgetown neighborhood, and took advantage of the myriad educational and cultural opportunities the city had to offer. It was there that she did much of her writing and producing.

After Lawrence's death, she moved to Boston to join a community of active seniors at the Christian Science Church's Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association. She would later describe the years that followed as the happiest of her life—a time that fed her mind, body, and spirit.

Nancy was so kind and gentle that not everyone noticed how courageous she was. She was so dedicated to the common good that not everyone knew how deeply devoted she was to her family. She was so earnest that not everyone saw the wry sense of humor that lay beneath. And she was so forgiving that some might have doubted her powers of observation. But she saw it all and yet still recognized the good in everyone. Her family and friends are devastated by her passing. But Nancy was prepared, and met the moment with grace and unshakable faith.

She is survived by her siblings, Brigid Kelly (husband Scott Cole) and Bob Itnyre (wife Kathy); her children, Kateri Young (husband Bill) and Peter Geyer (wife Bernadette); her step-daughter, Mary Ann Christopher (husband Manu Henry); her grandchildren, Eric Young (wife Alex Scheeler), Abby Young, Frida Geyer, and Chelsea Halloin; and her great-grandchildren, Oscar and Rose Young.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Delores Itnyre; her beloved daughter Jessica; and her husband Lawrence Christopher.

Private graveside services were held on Saturday, April 17, 2026. Plans are in the works for a celebration of life during the summer of 2026.