Nancy Gabrielsen

1941 - 2020

Nancy Gabrielsen

Tallahassee - On Monday, September 28, 2020, Dr. Nancy Gabrielsen passed away peacefully after an extended struggle with dementia.

Born in Brooklyn, New York in February of 1941 to George and Mary Gabrielsen (Howance). Nancy attended PS249 in Brooklyn, graduated in 1958 from Brentwood High School in Brentwood, NY and later received her undergraduate degree from Fredonia SUNY. She proudly received her Master's and Doctorate degrees at Florida State University.

She served as a professor at Worthington Community College in Worthington, MN, East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, Thomas University in Thomasville, GA, and Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, PA. Was also an administrator at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA. She retired from Slippery Rock University in 2005 and moved to Crawfordville, FL to be near her favorite beach at St. George Island.

She loved to teach and taught Instructional Design, Adult Education, Gerontology, Leisure Studies and Therapeutic Recreation. She was famous at Slippery Rock for bringing her mother - in her cremation urn - to her 'Death and Dying' class, passing her around to her students and joking that her mother finally got to go to college.

Nancy married Victor Delgado of New York, and together they had two children, Laura and Kevin. The marriage didn't last, but the kids did. She would spend seventeen years as a single mom raising her children while furthering her education.

Nancy enjoyed camping, hiking and long walks on the beach. She was a collector of old things, and spent time picking through flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores and people's garbage for 'treasures' and usually dragged her two kids with her.

She was a huge advocate for cats. Nancy fostered many cats over the years, unable to part with most. If you looked up 'Cat Lady' in the dictionary, there would be a picture of our mother. She volunteered with many cat rescue organizations and never met a cat she couldn't love.

She enjoyed playing bingo, playing board games with friends and word find puzzles. She was kind, friendly, outgoing and a fervent conversationalist.

She is survived by her daughter Laura Delgado, her children Alanna and Joshua and her great granddaughter, Zayda; her son Kevin Delgado, his wife Jennifer and their children Liliana and Gabriella. Also, her former husband Victor Delgado, her cousin Tom Crook and his family.

No service or remembrance is planned at this time due to the pandemic. If you would like to honor her memory, consider adopting an older cat in need of a loving home.