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Nancy Boyd Tickel of Langhorne, teacher

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 25, for Nancy Boyd Tickel, 75, a teacher and Langhorne resident, who died of leukemia Tuesday, May 7, at St. Mary Medical Center.

Nancy B. Tickel
Nancy B. TickelRead more

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 25, for Nancy Boyd Tickel, 75, a teacher and Langhorne resident, who died of leukemia Tuesday, May 7, at St. Mary Medical Center.

A New York state native, Mrs. Tickel moved to Bucks County in the early 1960s. She taught in the Pennsbury School District for 23 years, 18 years at Edgewood Elementary School and five at Quarry Hill Elementary.

Mrs. Tickel was a warm person, and that was reflected in her classroom technique. Many still remember her taking a pupil onto her lap and singing "Baby Face," or teaching that student the words to "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt."

"Nancy was a model teacher," according to a statement released by her family. "She was very supportive of her students, always positive with them, loved them, and loved her job. She believed in their unlimited potential."

Mrs. Tickel was raised on a large dairy farm in Cannonsville, N.Y., among cows and horses. She was a graduate of Deposit Central High School in Deposit, N.Y., and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Among her fondest childhood memories, she told family, were summer days spent at Camp Hilltop in New York state, where she competed in horse shows, winning a number of championship ribbons.

As an adult, she continued riding on vacation at dude ranches. She also took up golf at Yardley Country Club. She was such an avid player, her family said, that although battling leukemia, she played 18 holes of golf three weeks before her death.

She met her husband, David C. Tickel, at Miami. He was playing pinball at the time; as she passed the machine, she pulled back the spring launch, and that was the beginning of a 57-year relationship.

She and her husband were active alumni supporters of Miami. She served on reunion committees, attended many sports events, and served on the board of the Redhawk Red and White booster club. The two were named distinguished alumni by Miami in 2009.

Mrs. Tickel was active in her community. She was an elder, Sunday school teacher, and outreach coordinator for the board at United Christian Church.

She served as one of the founders of the Bucks County Committee for Interracial Harmony; was a member and board member of the Bucks County Branch of the NAACP; was a member of the Levittown American Association of University Women; and was a board member for the Peace Center in Langhorne.

Surviving, in addition to her husband, is a son, David L.; daughter Ruth Anne Tickel-Logan; a brother; and three grandchildren.

A life celebration service is at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at United Christian Church, 8525 New Falls Rd., Levittown. Burial is private.

Contributions may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Box 4072, Pittsfield, Mass. 01202, or the Peace Center, 102 W. Maple Ave., Langhorne, Pa. 19047.

Condolences may be offered to the family at moldenfuneral2@aol.com.