Nan's Obituary
Nancy (Roberts) Miller Edelen, age 85, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 12, at her home in Harbeson.
Nan was born in Abington, PA. on April 15, 1924, the second daughter of the late Frederick and Mary( Walker) Roberts. She grew up in Jenkintown, Pa., along with her late sister, Helen, and attended the University of Pennsylvania.
She briefly taught nursery school in Jenkintown. After her 1953 marriage to Charles Miller II, Nan moved to Baltimore, then Silver Spring, Md. She went back to school in 1966, earning a degree in cartography from Columbia Technical Institute. She worked as a cartographer for both the Defense Mapping Agency and the National Capital Park and Planning Commission for about nine years.
In 1975, Nan fulfilled a lifelong dream and moved to Lewes, DE. Lewes Beach had been her beloved second home as a summer and weekend getaway. She worked initially as a lab technician at the University of Delaware's College of Marine Studies. Later, while well into her 60s in age, Nan went back to school again, and got her poultry technology degree from Delaware Technical Institute. She worked as a poultry pathologist, first for Cargill Industries and later for Mountaire Farms in Millsboro, until her retirement in 1994.
Two years later, Nan and her husband and companion of almost 40 years, Robert B. Edelen, moved to Harbeson, DE. They turned a horticultural hobby into a bustling home-based business, Hollyberry Orchids, which was featured in local newspaper articles, as well as a local TV news program.
The business proved to be too bustling, however, for retirees and the Edelens sold the business in favor of pursuing one of their other favorite hobbies - bird watching.
In recent years, they travelled on nature cruises to the Galapagos, Central and South America, Alaska, and the Arctic. In fact, Nan was a lover of all wildlife, especially stray cats, which often found their way into her homes. She was also an active member of the Lewes Yacht Club.
In addition to her husband, Bob Edelen, of Harbeson, Nan is survived by her four daughters, Donna Means, of Georgetown, DE; Patricia Rao, of Silver Spring, MD; Rebecca Ryder, of Philadelphia, PA; and Linda Miller, of Gaithersburg, MD; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Family and friends are invited to help celebrate Nan’s life on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 1:00 PM at the Lewes Yacht Club.
In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to Delaware Hospice, 100 Patriots Way, Milford, DE 19963 or the Sussex County Chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), 22918 S. DuPont Blvd, Georgetown, DE 19947.
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