BRUNSWICK – Nancy Ann Lauckner died on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Hill House Assisted Living, Bath. She was 83 years old.

She was born on Dec. 3, 1941 in Salem, Mass., to Charles G. and Margaret E. Lauckner of Lynn, Mass. Nancy graduated from Elmira College (B.A., 1963), Middlebury College (M.A., 1964), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D., 1971). She studied at the University of Mainz (Germany) on a Fulbright Scholarship (1963-64).

She loved teaching. She was a lecturer in German at the University of Wisconsin – Sheboygan Center (1969-70) and then taught German language and literature at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville) (1970-2001), retiring as an associate professor. She presented and published various papers and articles during her career and co-edited the book Shedding Light on the Darkness: A Guide to Teaching the Holocaust (2000). After retiring, she did adjunct teaching in German at the University of Southern Maine – Gorham (2001, 2002) and Bowdoin College (spring 2003). She was a member of the American Association of Teachers of German, Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association, and the American Association of University Professors.

In 1978 Nancy married her soul mate, Stephen W. Kercel. They lived in Seymour, Tenn. She belonged to First United Methodist Church, Knoxville, where she served as liaison to the Singles Group (1976 – ca. 1981). She later joined Church of the Savior UCC in Knoxville (1991- 2001). She was a volunteer telephone worker for Contact of Knoxville, a telephone crisis center, from 1976 to 1997.

Upon retiring (2001), Nancy and Steve returned to her beloved New England, moving to Brunswick, Maine. She was a descendant of one of the Angel Gabriel families (the ship from England was wrecked at Pemaquid, Maine, in the 1635 hurricane) and of one of the founding families of Lynn, Mass. After her father suffered a disabling stroke in 2003, she visited him regularly and carefully monitored his care in a nursing facility until his death.

In retirement Nancy focused on volunteer work and using her handwork skills for her church and charitable causes. At Bath (later The Neighborhood) UCC, she participated actively in the Prayer Shawl Circle since 2003, crocheting and sometimes knitting shawls for this cause and sharing friendships with group members. In 2006 she joined First Parish Congregational Church UCC of Yarmouth. There she especially enjoyed using her handwork skills to make items for the Christmas Fair and working with friends to prepare for Christmas Fair and Clam Festival. She volunteered for Parkview Adventist Medical Center and the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. She was a cancer survivor.

She is survived by her husband, Stephen Kercel of Brunswick.

Friends and family are invited to visit 6 – 8 p.m. Friday August 8, 2025 at the Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal Street, Brunswick. A funeral service will be held 2pm Saturday August 9, 2025 at the funeral home with internment following in Growstown Cemetery, Church Road, Brunswick. Memories and condolences can be shared at http://www.brackettfh.com.

If friends wish to make donations in memory of Nancy, the family suggests:

First Parish Congregational Church UCC

Yarmouth, ME or:

Heifer International or:

Canine Companions for Independence or:

the American Cancer Society