Published in the May 12, 2020 edition.
MALDEN — Nancy North Strickland, 79, of Malden, peacefully crossed over, entering the spirit world at her home on April 23, 2020.
She was born Nancy Jane Isaacson on August 17, 1940 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada where her father was on temporary work assignment. He later moved his family to Illinois, then settled in St. Petersburg, Fla. There he decided to legally change the family name to “North” as he grew weary of spelling the Swedish “Isaacson” and thought “North” would be much easier as his children approached school age.
Nancy was raised by her parents in the Spiritualist faith and became a regionally recognized medium. While living in Newburyport, Melrose and Malden she encouraged others who shared the same interest, via church and word of mouth, by teaching mediumship development classes in her home which always began by singing, “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” She published her first two books, “You the Medium” (first and second editions) with friend and co-author, Ray Berube. Nancy was working on a third book.
Her several career paths included selling real estate, working in human services and writing a weekly column for the Newburyport Daily News, “As I See It,” but her first love was working with children. She was a substitute teacher for many years in the Newburyport school system, followed by, and retiring from, Thom Pentucket Early Intervention in West Newbury. She thoroughly enjoyed more than 20 years as an Early Intervention Teacher.
Nancy loved to quilt and became a quilting contributor for many national quilt magazines, producing hundreds of articles. She built lasting friendships of over 40 years with her quilting girlfriends. She was an avid gardener and loved taking walks to look at flowers and to the grocery store to meet new people. She believed in the power of a smile. “Always find opportunities to make someone smile, and to offer random acts of kindness in everyday life.” – Roy T. Bennett.
Nancy valued the power of volunteerism and spent countless hours throughout her life helping children and adults with physical and developmental challenges.
Nancy enjoyed meeting friends and being an active participant for many years at the Outloud Open Mike at the Beebe Estate in Melrose.
Nancy was a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
She is survived by her daughters, Sarah Strickland, Malden; Lisa Hoyt, Salem, Va.; a sister, Karen North Wells, Brewster; two brothers: David North of St. Petersburg, Fla. and Jon Peter North of Gainesville, Va.; four grandchildren, one great-grandchild, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and endless loving friends. She was pre-deceased by her parents Leroy and Elizabeth (Johnson) North, brother George North, and sister Stephanie North Cross.
Per her request, there will be no funeral services.
An online celebration of life service will be held later in May. If you would like to participate in and/or view the service at a later time, please send an email to the family at: nstricklandmemorial@gmail.com To share a message of condolence or a memory of Nancy, please visit: https://bostoncremation.org/obituaries
