Nancy would see a stranger in need and feel empathy. The person’s religion, race, or social status was not a consideration. If Nancy had the ability to help, she did. And not only did she help, she enjoyed helping.

Nancy managed to donate relatively large sums of money to needy families. In fact, one time she gave us a check for a poor family we knew. We looked at the amount and said, “Are you sure you want to give this much?” She answered, “They need it more than I do.” She didn’t have to be asked. She seemed to know people’s needs, and gave without fanfare and with a good heart.

Prayer and religious ritual played a key role in her daily activities. Wherever she went, she carried her siddur (prayer book) which she used every single day. If she traveled on Chanukah, she made sure to take her paraffin-covered menorah. Whether it was to Altoona, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Hawaii, Spain, or the dozens of other places she traveled to, these items were as essential as her toothbrush. You need only look at the number of siddurim she had in her apartment—many with worn and tattered pages—to get an idea of how prominent prayer was in her daily routine.

One of her roommates wrote, “I will always remember Nancy’s routines: doing her laundry . . . going to the gym or cycling, and davening [praying] every morning in the dark living room before she left for work.”

Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of G-d by leading an ethical life) is what Nancy was all about. She was a Mekadeshes Shem Shamayim (sanctifier of G-d’s name through ethical behavior). Her friends knew of her enthusiasm and determination for biking. Her integrity and devotion to work and friends was legendary. But even more, they felt her passion and devotion to Yiddishkeit (Jewish way of life). When she accompanied friends to non-kosher restaurants, it was no problem for Nancy to eat only a candy bar or other food she had brought along, while they would partake of the best the restaurant had to offer. Many a time they would ask her to join them, and her most common refrain was, “No means no!” When she traveled, her friends would look on with amazement as she uncomplainingly spent hours trying to get kosher food or filled a hotel’s bathtub with ice to keep her chicken cold.

What mattered to Nancy was not necessarily fitting in with the crowd, but living her life in a manner that would be true to herself. She was a friend to so many people, listening to their problems, and providing advice and encouragement whenever it was needed. As one of her friends said: “This was Nancy’s spirit in life. She was generous with her time, her heart, with her things.” She was a person who truly cared. To be such a giving person, a great friend and a sterling role model to everyone who knew her, and still be totally committed to her heritage, is to be a walking Kiddush Hashem.

That was Nancy Morgenstern.