Nancy Petran

Nancy Petran (née Folcke) passed away March 16, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. She was 85 years old.

Nancy lived her life with an easy laugh, a beautiful smile, and a warm, loving spirit. Born in October 1940 to Joseph and Natalie Folcke in White Plains, New York, Nancy grew up with energy to spare-first as a toe dancer, then a swimmer, and later a high school field hockey standout. She graduated from Springfield High School before attending Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia and ultimately earning her degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Even in her earliest years, with her elder sister Marcia and her cousin Midge Nash (née Reynolds, aka "Kemosabe", she carried a sense of curiosity and adventure that would shape the decades to come.

In the late 1950s, Nancy joined Rumrill Advertising in New York City as a traffic coordinator, becoming part of one of the earliest generations of working women in the industry. But it was during her sophomore year at Pitt that her life took its most important turn. When her scheduled blind date in a group outing canceled at the last minute, the boys rounded up another candidate: Anton ("Tony") Petran. She would later tell people that she immediately knew that he was "the one." That unexpected substitution sparked a partnership that would last the rest of her life and grow into more than 63 years of marriage.

Together, Nancy and Tony built a life filled with motion, laughter, and love. They raised their three children-Steven, Susan, and Meredith-first in Mount Prospect and then in Lake Forest, Illinois, creating a loving, grounded and stable environment in which the family flourished. Nancy was the kind of mom who was always ready to fill up the red Coleman cooler when it was time to pile everyone into the station wagon, the "green machine," or the Starcraft van and head out for adventures near and far: Michigan, Breckenridge, Cody, Jackson, Philadelphia, Ogallala, and countless places in between. She and Tony pulled each other into new hobbies and new landscapes- becoming avid tennis players on the courts of the Lake Forest Bath & Tennis Club, wandering European streets, hiking Wyoming trails, and skiing the slopes of Wisconsin and Colorado. They built their own greenhouse attached to their Lake Forest home, and cultivated many things there; most of all, a home full of love.

When they eventually moved to the desert north of Scottsdale, Nancy and Tony didn't just relocate-they dreamed together. They bought a plot of land where they knew every cactus and every boulder, put a finger to the prevailing winds, and designed a home that was exactly what they wanted and needed. That house, and Nancy's beloved reading nook, became the heart of the family-a place of gathering, comfort, and laughter that remains home to this day.

In that desert landscape, they enjoyed an active and well earned retirement as members of The Boulders Club for nearly 30 years. Nancy remained a tennis player well into adulthood, picked up a golf club or two in her later years, and continued to embrace life with the same warmth, humor, and immense love for her family that had defined her from the beginning.

Nancy's passing on March 16, 2026 comes after a sudden and brief illness, leaving behind a legacy of joy, resilience, and deep devotion. She was preceded in death by her sister Marcia Dunphy and is survived by her beloved husband Tony; their children Steven (Cheryl), Susan McGourty (Matthew), and Meredith; and her grandchildren Claire, Daniela, and Owen. She will be remembered with infinite love, enormous gratitude, and no shortage of stories that end in smiles.