Dear Mr. Morgenstern,

I met Nancy in 1993, when Nora Koenig and I moved into the James Tower. I actually sublet Nicole’s room in #7C while Nicole was away in Florida and enjoyed six months of living with Nancy as a roommate. We bonded immediately, sharing the same interests in exercise, biking, and boys! Nancy was always up for anything—a road trip, a bike trip, or a night out with the girls.

When I moved upstairs to #16 with Nora, it was as if we still lived in the same apartment as Nancy. As Nora described, we would always share Friday night and Shabbos meals together, everyone bringing their own Tupperware and gathering around the small table in the makeshift dining room. There was never an issue of where or what we would do for meals, because we always just assumed we would be there for each other.

On Sundays while Nancy was up early getting in her 7 A.M. bike ride (twenty-six miles around the park—and that was just for warm up!) Nora and I would head down to her apartment to discuss with Nicole and Mindy what activity all five of us would do for the rest of the day. Usually we just walked around the street fairs or, in nice weather, we would all go to Central Park and hang out and picnic.

I had the pleasure of traveling to California with Nancy, Nora, Nicole, and Mindy. Nancy, being the savvy travel agent, was able to arrange a great “deal” at the luxurious Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills. The deal was that we could all stay for free!! That gave us extra money to upgrade our rental car to a red convertible so we could drive around town and really have fun.

In 1996, I sublet my room in James Tower and temporarily moved to Israel. Nancy came to visit me twice and we had a great time touring through Jerusalem and the old city. One of her visits she was only able to stay a few days and I was lucky enough to have her sleep at my place for one of them. She always had a smile on her face when she traveled. She really loved to see and do new things.

Nancy was a very special friend. Someone you knew you could count on and would totally be there for you. She was nice and popular and very spiritual. She wasn’t swayed by other people’s influence and defiantly danced to the beat of her own drum. She was a totally ethical person; you should be very proud of her.

Sometimes when a person is young and single it is easy to be influenced and fall into temptation—be it big or small. Nancy was so strong in her beliefs and religious upbringing, that even though she may have dressed in very stylish clothing, kept in terrific shape, and enjoyed hitting the town with the rest of us, she still kept her religion a top priority. She was a unique and special friend.

I miss her dearly.
Jordana Balsam