Nancy Andrews

Nancy May Wicklein, daughter of Raymond and Catherine (Miller) Wicklein, was born May 10, 1927 in Reading, Pennsylvania.  At a young age, her family moved to Roselle, New Jersey, where she grew up and graduated high school. In her teens she was a regular performer with her vocal trio on Big Brother Bob Emery’s Rainbow House radio program on WOR in New York City. Following her schooling, Nancy worked at Saks 5th Avenue in Manhattan. While working there she studied voice and acting and performed and recorded as a soloist with the Saks choir.  She was united in marriage to Tom Andrews on May 17, 1952 at the Maplewood Presbyterian Church.  The couple made their home in northern New Jersey, where they raised their three children, John, Mark and Sally.  Nancy was known as an actor, singer, director and choreographer who participated in local theater and church choirs around New Jersey. She was a long-time supporter of Papermill Playhouse, a New Jersey-based Equity Theater, and performed in such companies as Stony Hill Players and Wagon Wheel Players and raised money for Bayshore Hospital through directing and writing the annual “Bayshore Follies.” Nancy had a career in music therapy, working on the staff of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital and Marlborough State Hospital, and she continued to volunteer in retirement at Children’s Psychiatric Center in Freehold, NJ.

She was an active member of Tower Hill First Presbyterian Church in Red Bank, New Jersey.  She loved animals, cooking and hosting large gatherings. She and Tom spent many summers in their beloved Adirondack Mountains at their family camp on Indian Lake. Nancy was a great singer into her 90s and often performed spontaneously for her friends and family at West Wind Village in Morris, MN.

Nancy passed away on Monday, January 20, 2020 at West Wind Village in Morris.  She was 92 years old.

She is survived by three children: John Andrews and his wife Patty Jausoro of Los Angeles, CA, Mark Andrews and his wife Cindy of Monterey, MA and Sally Finzel and her husband Bart of Morris; also seven grandchildren: David Andrews, Stacy Piatek, Michael Andrews, Raymond Finzel, Mitchell Finzel, Augusta Finzel and Harrison Andrews; and one brother: John Wicklein of NH. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Thomas Andrews Jr.

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in charge of the arrangements.  To send condolences to the family please visit www.pedersenfh.com.  And Nancy would love you to support your local community theater! A private family memorial service for Nancy will take place in New Jersey at a later date.