Find an Obituary

Nancy Guptill Searle, a resident of Williamsburg, VA, died on April 2, 2019, of natural causes. The daughter of the late Leon C. and Helen Boyd Guptill, she was born on March 28, 1922, in Roxbury, MA, and attended Winthrop, MA schools for her early education. She graduated from the Oak Grove School in Vassalboro, ME, and attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where she studied journalism and was a member of Pi Beta Phi Sorority. She married Robert Frank Searle, her high school sweetheart and a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, in 1941. She is survived by her children, Robin Searle Found and her husband, J. Stephen Found, of Wolfeboro, NH; Sandra Searle Ames and her husband, Kenneth Ames, of Warner, NH; and Ann Searle Horowitz and her husband, Michael Horowitz, of Pelham Manor, NY; eight grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband in 2002.Nancy approached life with a spirit of involvement and volunteerism. As an eighteen-year resident of New Canaan, CT, she was active as a Girl Scout leader, a vocalist with the Park Street Singers, and a member of the Congregational Church, Woodway Country Club, the Southern Fairfield County Alumnae Club of Pi Beta Phi, and the Norwalk Yacht Club.Retiring with her husband to Phippsburg, ME in 1981, Nancy committed her time to the Bath United Church of Christ, the United States Power Squadron, the Bath Garden Club, several area golf clubs, and the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club.A second retirement in Williamsburg, VA yielded new affiliations: the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, Hampton Rhodes Power Squadron, Seaford Yacht Club, and Spotswood Golf Club, where her score for nine holes regularly broke fifty into her 80s.Nancy loved beautiful things and was born with a green thumb, a happy combination of traits that ensured her gardens were a source of pride wherever she called home. An avid horsewoman, Nancy's eyes twinkled when telling the story of wearing ski boots while riding at Oak Grove in wintertime-earning a broken collarbone in the process when they got stuck in the stirrups.Nancy was a First Mate extraordinaire to husband, Bob, with whom she sailed far and wide on 36-foot "Antares," including trips down the Inland Waterway from Maine to Virginia (to visit their daughter for Parents' Weekend at college), from Maine to the Bahamas, plus numerous crossings from Norwalk, CT to Nantucket Island.Nancy was a devoted wife, a loving mother-albeit with high expectations-for her three daughters, and a loyal friend. Her kindness will always be remembered. She brought light to the lives of all who knew her.A family memorial service in New England is planned for the summer.The family requests that any memorial gifts be made to: Smile Train, PO Box 96231, Washington, D.C. 20090-6231, or to the Stephen H. Montgomery Employee Training and Education Fund at www.williamsburglanding.org/giving/history

Published in Virginia Gazette from Apr. 27 to May 4, 2019