Nancy Milne Haff, 63, a paramedic

After being involved in an accident nearly 15 years ago, Nancy A. Milne Haff decided she wanted "a change of scenery" in the way she helped people, said her daughter, Heather Stousy-Stork.

Mrs. Haff left her job as a social worker at Catholic Charities in Burlington County and began the training that would make her a paramedic.

Mrs. Haff, 63, of Woodland Township, died of pancreatic cancer Sunday, June 13, at her home.

As a social worker, Mrs. Haff led various programs through Catholic Charities, including "Adopt a Family for the Holidays."

"Please consider starting a new tradition in your home - share your Christmas with others and receive the joy and gratitude of people who get gifts that are unexpected," she said in a 1989 Inquirer article.

In winter, Mrs. Haff would work long hours, arranging for families to get to shelters and trying to get people hooked up with energy assistance programs.

After she and her daughter were in a car accident in 1996, they decided to become emergency medical technicians. Mrs. Haff went on to work for the Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corp. in Wall, N.J., for several years before continuing her training and becoming a paramedic.

Mrs. Haff also worked as a soccer referee for men's and women's college games, her husband, Richard, said, often traveling to tournaments around the country.

She also refereed local girls' high school basketball and volleyball games.

In 2003, Mrs. Haff started working as a paramedic for advanced-care patients at Underwood-Memorial Hospital in Woodbury. She instantly clicked with staff and patients, said John Feltes, the hospital's special projects coordinator.

At Underwood, Mrs. Haff would start IVs and get medications started for patients.

Mrs. Haff was born and raised in Thomaston, N.Y., and graduated from Queens College in 1968.

She received her master's degree in social work from Rutgers University in 1970 and settled in South Jersey, where she was a social worker for various agencies.

In the late 1980s, she finally settled in her dream location: a house on a 14-acre property in the Pine Barrens. She had horses, chickens and Christmas trees on her farmlike property.

Mrs. Haff loved reading history books and riding horses. She met her husband at a 25-mile riding event in 1993, and they married in 1999.

In addition to her husband and daughter, Mrs. Haff is survived by sons Brandon and Todd Stousy; stepchildren Shawna Bolden and David Haff; five grandchildren; two sisters; and a brother.

She is also survived by first husband, Greg Stousy, whom she divorced in the early 1980s.

A visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, June 25, at St. Joseph's Church, Third and French Streets, Hammonton, N.J. A memorial Mass will follow at 11 a.m.