Nancy Johnston Mulford
Skillman’s Nancy Johnston Mulford died January 12 in Stonebridge, Montgomery, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 85.
Born October 28, 1937 in Oak Park, Illinois to Herbert J. and Gladys Semple Johnston, she graduated from Amundson High School in Chicago and Park College (now Park University) in Parkville, Missouri. She spent her junior year of college at the International Christian University in Mitaka, Japan. She later attended McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
In 1961 she married Rev. David E. Mulford. They lived in Albany, New York, Chatham Township, and Vero Beach, Florida while her husband, a Presbyterian minister, served as pastor of churches in those communities. In 1994, after her husband’s retirement, they moved to Black Mountain, North Carolina, where they lived for 12 years. In 2006 they moved to Stonebridge in Montgomery in Skillman.
Nancy was an active volunteer in every community she lived in. While living in Chatham Township, she was active in the American Field Service (a student exchange program) and served as an area representative. She has served on the boards of parent-teacher associations and chaired the Friends of the Library of the Chathams. She was named Morris County Volunteer Outstanding in 1983.
A member of a Presbyterian church wherever she lived, she served churches both as a deaconess and as an elder. She was also a member and board member of PEO, a women’s organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities for women, and served in local chapters in New Jersey, Florida, and North Carolina. In Princeton she was a member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church and the Princeton Women’s College Club.
Nancy and her husband enjoyed conducting early retirement seminars for the Presbyterian Church USA Board of Pensions. She ran the Country Store in Stonebridge for many years, providing a resource for those unable to shop independently. Nancy shared her artistic and educational gifts with many generations of children and adults and was particularly well known for her wonderful courses in making Pysanky-Ukrainian Eggs. Her creative talents were endless and live on in those with whom she shared her creations and her talents.
Nancy is survived by husband David of Skillman, son Stephen Mulford of Baltimore, MD, daughter and son-in-law Ann, and Dr. David Youmans of Princeton, NJ, grandchildren Carey and her husband Ammar Shallal of Princeton, NJ. Avery and husband Andrew Sellers from Lusaka, Zambia and Nicholas Youmans and partner Michael Collins from Brooklyn, NY. She is also survived by great-grandchildren Zayn and Remy Shallal and Owen Sellers. Her sister, Bonnie Jacobi of Fairview, NC, also survives. In addition, she will be missed by a number of foreign students who have lived with the Mulfords and have become an integral part of their family: Samatha James, Niloo James Hennings and June James Bechler from Sri Lanka and their families: Bambang Gunawan from Indonesia and Erika Schoonhover Lovera from the Netherlands.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, January 24 at 2:00 p.m. at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street, Princeton.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Nancy Mulford should be made to Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ, 08542 or to the Japan ICU (International Christian University) Foundation, Study Abroad Initiative, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 439, NY. NY 10115 or www.jicuf.org.
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