Nancy Nickerson Ryder95, former longtime resident of Wellfleet and Lexington, Massachusetts, passed away on Monday, March 26th at Genesis Lebanon Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Nancy was born May 19, 1922 in Winchester, Massachusetts, to Hollis and Carol Nickerson and grew up in Winchester, spending summers in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. She graduated from Winchester High School. Nancy was always interested in music. She played taps at several funerals in Winchester having learned it on the bugle in the Drum and Bugle Corps in Girl Scouts. At the age of ten, Nancy began violin studies with Hildegaard Livingston. At the age of 14 she studied violin for a summer in Heidelberg, Germany. She attended Wheaton College, where she frequently played violin at Chapel.

Nancy married James Ryder in 1951 and, while raising three daughters and a son, taught violin for ten years. During this time, Nancy, always ambitious and energetic, earned her bachelor's degree in education from Tufts University in 1966 and went on to teach elementary school for 20 years in the Woburn school system. Nancy and Jim were married for thirty years.

Nancy performed with the Brockton Civic Orchestra under Moshe Paranov. Later, she played first violin with the Boston Civic Symphony, where she fondly recalled rehearsing in the basement of the Boston Latin School. She joined the Philharmonic Society of Arlington, Massachusetts in 1970 and was a sustaining member as a first string violinist, Assistant Director of the Orchestra, and member of the Board of Directors.

Aside from music, one of Nancy's other passions was travel. She visited Africa, Iceland, Mexico, South Africa and the USSR, often traveling independently with ElderHostel programs. Nancy was a successful amateur horticulturist, creating a large garden of annuals and perennials at her summer home in Wellfleet, and in later years tending to indoor potted plants and window boxes outside of her condominium. Nancy was a long-time member of the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Lexington, Massachusetts, where she sang soprano in the choir and served the church in many volunteer capacities. After her move to Orleans, Massachusetts, she was a member of the Congregational Church in Chatham. She remained a lifelong member of the First Congregational Church in Wellfleet. She spent her last year in Lebanon, New Hampshire, close to her grand-daughter, Hilary Ryder.

Nancy is survived by her daughter Susan Hamar and her husband Daniel Hamar of Vero Beach, Florida and Wellfleet, Massachusetts and their son Benjamin, his wife, Vanessa Allen and their children Genevieve and Tobias Hamar, and their daughter Jennifer and her partner Michael Merg and their daughter Malila; her son Robert Winsor Ryder of Truro, Massaschusetts and his daughter Hilary Ryder, her husband, Matthew Henken, and their children Henry, Samuel, Lillian and Joseph Henken, and his daughter Abigail Ryder; and her daughter Claire Ryder of Vancouver, Canada and her partner Marcus and her daughters Rose and Dorah Prieto, and her son-in-law Roger Cole of Kittery Point, Maine, as well as a multitude of nieces and nephews with whom she enjoyed many summers in Wellfleet. She is predeceased by her daughter Marcia Abigail Ryder of Kittery Point, Maine, her sister Laurania and brother-in-law Joseph O'Connell of St. Augustine, Florida and her brother Winsor Nickerson and his wife Helvie of Hingham, Massachusetts.

Nancy always had a warm and friendly smile and a generous spirit.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra in Arlington, Massachusetts or to the Marcia Abigail Ryder Scholarship Fund at the Kittery Art Association in Kittery, Maine.

A memorial service and concert will be held on Saturday, July 7th at 1pm at the First Congregational Church in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Please contact the church for further details.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH.