Nancy Washington — a distinguished educator, passionate advocate for education, the arts and equitable healthcare, a devoted mother, grandmother and friend — died on Oct. 12. She was 87.
Nancy was born on March 15, 1939, the only child of Tanner and Courtney Duckrey.
She grew up in the Nicetown neighborhood of Philadelphia. She attended Girls High School where she was salutatorian of her graduating class. She earned a bachelor of science in education from Boston University in 1960 and a master’s degree in education from Temple University.
Soon after graduating from college, she met and fell in love with Milton Washington, whom she married in 1960. Their loving marriage endured until his death in 2016.
A promising business opportunity brought the family to Pittsburgh in 1967. Although initially a reluctant transplant, Nancy soon found a welcoming circle of friends and became deeply rooted in the community she would call home. She continued her education at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a doctorate in educational psychology in 1973.
Her distinguished 27-year career at the University of Pittsburgh began soon after graduation, when she joined the Greensburg campus as an assistant professor of psychology. She was promoted to associate professor in 1979 and later held appointments in clinical epidemiology and family medicine. As assistant dean for minority affairs at the School of Medicine and, beginning in 1993, assistant to the chancellor, she worked to expand opportunities for students, strengthen minority recruitment and retention and advance the university’s commitment to inclusion. She also helped establish the Center for Minority Health in 1994. She retired from the university in 1999.
Nancy, Milton and the family began spending summers on Martha’s Vineyard in 1976, when they rented their first home in West Tisbury. They quickly fell in love with the Island and soon built a summer home in Vineyard Haven. A high point of the year was the time she spent there with friends and family. In 2026, the family celebrated 50 years on the Vineyard with several generations gathered together.
Nancy was a longtime member of the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, attended Union Chapel and supported the Featherstone Center for the Arts among other Vineyard institutions.
Nancy served organizations including the Eye & Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Foundation, Point Park University, Wilson College and the Association of Theological Schools.
A co-founder of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, she was also involved with the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, City Theatre, the Frick Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Symphony. She supported workforce and civil rights groups and remained devoted to the Tanner G. Duckrey School in Philadelphia, named for her father, the city’s first African American superintendent of schools.
Her honors included recognition as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania, the Sen. John Heinz History Center’s History Makers Award for community service, Carlow University’s Women of Spirit Award, the Patricia R. Rooney Award, City Theatre’s Robert Frankel Award and the Three Rivers Youth Humanitarian Award.
She is survived by her daughters, Linda and Lara; her sons-in-law, Gregory and Ken; and her grandchildren, Courtney (Cece) and her husband, Tom, and Zoe, Kendall and Tanner. She is also remembered by relatives and friends in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Martha’s Vineyard and elsewhere.
Contributions may be made to the Eye & Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh.