News

    GULF STREAM — Nancy Touhey, 86, of Gulf Stream, died Oct. 25 after succumbing to cancer.
    Born in Milwaukee, Wis., to Lois Gram and George Downing, she was raised in nearby River Hills and attended Downer Seminary and Milwaukee Country Day School.  
    Mrs. Touhey was a true renaissance woman. An athlete and outdoorswoman, she competed in show jumping, tennis and golf and was known for her gardening. She guided and served garden clubs in Wisconsin, Iowa and Florida.
    While a member of the Grass River Garden Club, she lovingly tended her expansive fairy garden that not only brought joy to children and adults alike, it is also represented in the Smithsonian Institution archives.
    Married to her greatest love, Carl Touhey of Albany, N.Y., in 1993, she summered in Feura Bush, N.Y., where she served on the board of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
    Mrs. Touhey served her communities and charities with kindness, grace and passion. In Wisconsin she served on the board of Goodwill, St. Mary’s Hospital and St. John’s Home. As president of the Board of Regents of the Kenmore Associates in Fredericksburg, Va., she was credited with negotiating the deal that ultimately saved from development George Washington’s Ferry Farm. Because of her efforts, the land where legend has it the cherry tree was felled, will be preserved for generations to come.
    In Florida Mrs. Touhey was on the boards of Old School Square, The Achievement Centers for Children and Families and the Delray Beach Historical Society.
    Mrs. Touhey  will forever be known as a nurturer and devoted confidant, from childhood friends she remained close to and those enveloped along the way, to her children, the grand- and great-grandkids, to animals in need of love and care and of the monarch butterfly lives she furthered through her gardening.
    Mrs. Touhey is survived by her loving children Kathy Daggett (Ray Curran) of Wilmington, N.Y.; George Daggett (Wendy) of Denver; Peter Daggett of Flagstaff, Ariz.; Carrie Carone of Chicago; Amy Daggett (Walter Salas-Humara) of Flagstaff, Ariz.; Mary Ronie (Paul) of Palm Beach; and Michael Cudahy (Dierdre) of Milwaukee; 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren; and sisters Sally Downing and Susie Kuehn, both of California.
    In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Achievement Centers Foundation in Delray Beach.
    Services will be held at 1 p.m. on Nov. 22 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Touhey will be missed greatly by the many people whose lives she touched with class and humor. Her cheerful and open attitude will remain in our hearts forever.
    Lorne & Sons Funeral Home, Delray Beach, is in charge of arrangements.   
— Obituary provided by the family