Nancy Woolf Toporowski

Highland Village, Texas- Nancy Woolf Toporowski, 84, long-time resident of Rotterdam, New York died peacefully on Friday, April 24, 2015 Nancy was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Henry A. and Stella Church Woolf. She grew up with two sisters and much extended family nearby. Nancy worked as a photography assistant in High School and has always enjoyed taking photos of children and grandkids. She was a graduate of Rockland High School and has remained friends with many of her classmates. She had a beautiful voice. In college, she sang in a band and made a recording of her voice. Nancy attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, graduated with a degree in teaching and met her future husband there. Nancy married Stanley Toporowski in 1954 and they moved to outside of Schenectady, NY for teaching positions. Nancy was a member of the Schenectady Light Opera company and enjoyed being in the cast of "The Mikado" and "Bye, Bye, Birdie." Nancy and Stan had three children, Susan, Betsey and Peter. Nancy started back into teaching when her youngest child started school. In teaching she used her love of art and music in putting on musical productions with the 2nd grade students. She taught for 33 years in the Mohonasen School District and was a favorite teacher to hundreds of students. . Over the years she was privileged to teach some of the children of her early 2nd grade students. After Nancy retired, she was active in the Schenectady Retired Teachers Association and volunteered as a greeter at St. Clare's hospital. When her first grandchild was born, Nancy thought she was too young to be called "Grandma." So she became "Noni" and everyone called her "Noni." She loved being with her grandchildren. She and her husband Stan were very comfortable babysitting grandkids. Her grandkids have fun memories of being pampered by Nancy. Lindsey, age 19, has Rhett's syndrome (a severe form of autism). Nancy and her husband regularly cared for Lindsey on weekends. Nancy was the beloved wife of 50 years to the late Stanley A. Toporowski (2005); beloved mother of Susan (Perry) Christensen of Flower Mound, TX., Betsey (Dr David) Sevitski of Holland, PA., Peter(Gloria) Toporowski of Saugerties, N.Y.; beloved grandmother of 11 grandchildren, David (Jen) Christensen, Brian and Bre Christensen, Heather (Brett) Whitaker, Alyssa (Ben) Berriman, Matt, Amy, Kate and Lindsey Toporowski; Jen and Dan Sevitski;and 6 great-grandchildren.She was the beloved sister of Louise (Daniel) Newcombe of Hanover, MA., and Charlotte (Tom) Lawson of Halifax, MA.Nancy is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.For over 50 years, her home in Rotterdam was the family gathering spot for good food, apple pies and warm memories. The family is grateful for the loving care of Sharon Krinner, Karen Asay and the staff at Rambling Oaks who assisted her over the last two years. The family will receive family and friends at DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 1605 Helderberg Avenue on Thursday, April 30th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.Nancy's funeral service will commence at 10:00 am on Friday, May 1st at the funeral home. Those in attendance may follow in procession for a 12:30 pm service in the committal shelter of the Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville, NY. In lieu of flowers contributions in Nancy's name may be made to The Center for Disability Services Foundation 314 South Manning Boulevard, Albany, NY 12208. On-line condolences may be left at demarcostonefuneralhome.com