Nancirose Halse

ALBANY - Nancirose Long (Rush) Halse, 83, of Albany, passed away on Sunday, April 27, 2025 in St. Peter's Hospice Inn.  She was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Jean Comeans and James McKinely Long in 1942. She spent her childhood on the campus of The Ohio State University and at the family farm in Dublin, Ohio. She traveled with her mother across the US, including several trips on the Delta Queen and spent a summer on a schooner in Maine. She married at 17 and raised 5 children.

In 1983, she re–married and she and her husband David relocated to Albany, New York. Together they spent summers at Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks and visited bed and breakfasts from Vermont to Maine. Once in Albany, Nanci went on to earn 3 Master’s Degrees: MA in History & Literature from SUNY Albany, MA in Theology from St. Bernard’s Institute, Rochester, NY and MS in Urban Planning from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Nanci used her vast experience and knowledge to mentor college students, to teach volunteer groups and minister to the elderly and patients in area hospitals as a volunteer chaplain.

Nanci went to Italy in her 40’s and spent a semester studying in Florence and discovered a lifelong love for all things Italian. She visited Italy many times and immersed herself in its culture, food and traditions. Her Catholic faith was very important to her in her later years.

As her husband David likes to say, Nancirose never met a question for which she wouldn't seek an answer. Her interests were vast and varied, from sports, to civil war history, to social justice. She was a lover of pandas and a diehard New York Yankee fan, sporting Yankee tattoos to prove it. She was a talented knitter, providing all her children and grandchildren with personalized Christmas stockings and baby layettes. Nanci was a voracious reader and knowledgeable about history, current affairs and politics. She finished her last book, James Joyce’s Ulysses, February 28, 2025, leaving it full of comments in the margins.

In addition to her husband, David, Nanci enjoyed the company of her two chocolate labradors, Gigi and Lola, who were always by her side. She was a devoted and generous great-grandmother and was blessed to spend time with her great-grandchildren Scarlett and Violet and their mother, Katia, on a visit from Ireland.

She was preceded in death by her beloved daughter, Molly Rush and stepson Steven Halse. She is survived by her daughters: Kayci Rush and Richard Spratt (Minneapolis, MN), Jenny and John Zmarzly (Hilton Head Island, SC), Wendy and John Zucal (New Philadelphia, OH), and her son Nathan Rush, and 10 grandchildren: Katia and Ross McConkey (Dublin, Ireland), Kloie Rush-Spratt (Chicago) and Zo Spratt (Minneapolis); Mitchell, Tadeusz, and Mariel Zmarzly (Charlotte, NC) and Lillian Zmarzly (Phoenix, AZ); Madeleine and Caitlin Zucal (Columbus, OH), Ethan and Baili Zucal (New Philadelphia,OH ); great granddaughters Violet and Scarlett McConkey and great grandsons, Tullio and Elias Zucal. With her husband, David, she has 2 surviving stepchildren, Phillip Halse (Cleveland, OH) and Eilene Lyon (Durango, CO), and daughter-in-law Karen Halse and step-granddaughter Madelyn Halse (Cleveland, OH).

Memorials may be sent to: World Wildlife Fund: WWF

Calling hours will be held in the Hans Funeral Home, 1088 Western Ave., Albany on Monday, May 5th from 10am to 12 noon.  The interment service will he held in the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery on Monday at 2:00 p.m.  Relatives and friends are invited. To leave a message of condolence for the family, please visit www.HansFuneralHome.com .