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Nancy R. Donley

Nancy R. Donley was born in Ashland on August 7, 1939. She graduated from Ashland High School in 1957. She received her Bachelor of Education Degree from Wittenburg University in Springfield and a Master of Education Degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Nancy taught English literature and grammar for more than 30 years at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia.

An advocate for civil rights, Nancy became one of the first teachers to participate in the historic desegregation of the Washington D.C. public schools that began in 1971. She was an active member of the Smithsonian Institute and pursued her private study of Black Death in Northern Italy with numerous summer fellowships from the Council on Basic Education.

Nancy was passionate about travel, culture, literature and the proper use of hyphens.

To honor her family ties to the Ashland community, Nancy directed that a portion of her estate be given to the Ashland County Community Foundation.

Prepared 2013