Nancy Jane "Fraser" McConnell

Nancy Jane (Fraser) McConnell died peacefully on January 29, 2026, at the age of 87, with family at her side. Nancy spent her final days in the amazing care of the Deerfield Skilled Nursing staff who loved her bright spirit and infectious laugh.

Nancy was born in Chicago, IL in 1938 to parents Dorothy (Schraeder) and Staney Fraser, and spent her childhood in Glenview, IL and the farmlands of Olivette, MI. In her early teens, Nancy moved to Delray Beach, FL with her parents and late brother, Duncan. Her mother was a reporter and women's page editor for the Delray Beach News-Journal which piqued Nancy's early interest in journalism. In high school she was Editor-in-Chief of the Seacrest High School Squall and, as a senior, the girl named most-likely-to-succeed. Nancy graduated from Florida State University in 1960. In college, she joined the Alpha Xi Delta sorority, studied hard, and loved to tell stories of the light-hearted fun she had. She also took pride in supporting the early lunch counter sit-ins that challenged segregation in the south.

After graduation, Nancy headed to New York City to become a journalist. As a woman, she had few professional avenues, so she characteristically persevered. Starting at the clip desk of Time Life, Nancy worked her way to reporting for Life Magazine. Nancy loved this time when she met interesting people as a reporter, lived four roommates to a room in various upper east side walk-ups, and saved what little money she earned to see Broadway shows (standing room only) and Europe for the first time.

For nearly two decades starting in the early 1970s, Nancy wrote for Institutional Investor, a magazine known for in-depth financial reporting that earned it the respect of the investment community. Nancy was the only woman at the time promoted to managing editor for the magazine. She later admitted that as editor, while she enjoyed working with so many writers, she missed her days of interviewing, finding a good story line, and having written a good piece.

In 1967, Nancy was married to Paul Belliveau, the father of her only child and daughter Michele. The couple moved to Katonah, NY where Nancy marveled at the vegetables that spontaneously grew in her garden and built a childhood for Michele filled with kind neighbors, creative projects, and books. When the marriage ended, Nancy moved to Roosevelt Island, a community nestled between Manhattan and Queens where she raised Michele and shared her love of city life. In the early 1980s, she was introduced to Walter McConnell, a successful money manager whose industry she had covered, and they fell in love. With Walter, Nancy moved to the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of Asheville where they shared a love of hiking, hosting friends and family, adventurous world travel, and 32 years of marriage until Walter's death in 2019.

Nancy was an eternal optimist who found a way to see the bright side-and often the humor-of any situation. She weathered multiple recurrences of cancer with this attitude. She enjoyed lively conversation, was a great cook, an avid reader, and an active volunteer for the Literacy Council helping adults learn to read, and for Paws with a Purpose, visiting nursing homes and kindergarten classes with her dog Josie in tow. Later in life Nancy developed a love of painting and became an accomplished watercolorist. What she enjoyed most about painting, though, was the community of friends it brought, a group that met weekly at the Asheville Botanical Gardens for many years to paint and share stories. Nancy had lifelong old friends and made new friends wherever she went. She had an instinct for kindness and was a joy to be around.

Nancy was the devoted mother of Michele, cheerful Nana to grandsons, Charlie and Henry, enamored mother-in-law to Jim, and ever grateful friend to Carolyn and Lily. Nancy will be remembered for her love of life, her intrepidness, and her zest.

There will be a celebration of Nancy's life on May 30th at 2pm at St. Giles Episcopal Chapel on the Deerfield Campus in Asheville. In lieu of flowers please consider a gift to the Deerfield Charitable Foundation for Employee Educational Scholarships. DeerfieldWNC.org/charitable-foundation or mail to 1617 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803.