Adventerous and Loving Spirits

Nancy Blake Harvey passed away on Dec. 4, 2019, and her husband, the Rev. Dr. William Harvey, passed away five months later on April 15, 2020. Nancy and Bill had a lifelong connection to Miniwanca as participants, parents, and volunteers. Bound by their common values of faith, love, loyalty, and kindness, Nancy and Bill leave an incredible legacy for their family and the many lives they touched.

Nancy first attended Older Girls Camp in summer 1950. She became a cabin leader for Younger Girls Camp and returned each year, graduating as a Susquehanna tribal chief of the OG “Yaotamin” class of 1953. Nancy was inspired by many AYF leaders, especially Ruth Isabel Seabury, whose work led Nancy to pursue becoming a Methodist missionary.

Nancy met Bill at a training program for missionaries the summer after they graduated college. Nancy was assigned to Algeria, and B ill was assigned to Kapanga in what was then the Belgian Congo. They stayed in touch, and their romance blossomed. They were married on June 27, 1959.

Nancy and Bill invited Osbert “Kodaya” Warmingham, the legendary AYF poet, to read the closing prayer and benediction at their wedding ceremony, but he had to cancel due to health issues. In a letter to Nancy, Kodaya wrote: “I have never seen a couple so admirably suited to each other as you two appear to me to be. And the prophet in me sees ahead of you a wonderful life in mutual love, fruitful service, joy, and steadily deepening peace.”

Throughout the 1960s, Bill and Nancy pursued their passion for missionary work and lived abroad in France and the Congo, where Bill taught at the theological school and pursued ministry. After they returned to the States, they settled in Ohio. Bill was a United Methodist minister, and Nancy was a busy volunteer and mother to their four children, Mark, Sarah, Amy, and Peggy.

Three generations of the Harvey family. From left, Madeleine Rule, Peggy Harvey Rule, Masayo Abe, Nancy Blake Harvey, Bill Harvey, Eliot Rule, Amy Harvey, and Jennifer Tucker

Nancy and Bill would return to Miniwanca in 1975 to bring Sarah to Girls Camp, and Amy and Peggy followed in 1977. After completing camp in the mid-’80s, Amy and Peggy each remained involved as AYF staff and volunteers for nearly 20 years. Bill and Nancy’s grandchildren, Ryan, Erin, Madeleine, and Eliot, all attended camp from 1997 through a final Odyssey trip in 2016.

Following his retirement, Bill volunteered at Miniwanca from the late ’90s through 2006, teaching a course called “I Dare You” that influenced hundreds of young people. A former camper wrote to him in 2005 about her experience: “After leaving class the first day, I became excited about going back every day to look deeper into myself to find the answers about my way of living and about how it can be improved… Thank you very much for your help with explaining the Four

Fold way of life to me.” Bill and Nancy’s love for Miniwanca grew as they shared the experience with their daughters and grandchildren. In 2004, the family gathered at camp for the dedication of the Harvey Family cabin (cabin 53 in Girls Camp), which was generously donated by Bill and Nancy.

A loving celebration of their lives was held on June 27, 2020, their 61st wedding anniversary. Family and friends gathered virtually to celebrate their lives and the lasting impact of their adventurous and loving spirits.