Nancy Elizabeth Granecki, born November 15th 1953 (age 66) in Durham, North Carolina, to her parents Jeanette and the late John Sumner, passed away peacefully on July 23rd 2020 surrounded by close loving friends and family. She is survived by her two sons Walt and Robert Granecki, her granddaughter Avery Autumn, her sisters Jill Breazeale and Carol Bridges, and her unforgettable cat Marlon.

Nancy grew up in Little Washington, NC and attended Eastern Carolina University from 1972-1976 for Nursing. She then moved to the Triangle and worked at the Durham VA Medical Center as a float nurse, clinical preceptor coordinator, Head Nurse in SPCU, relief coordinator, acting ACN and other roles from 1976-1994. She was described in a performance review as: “In summary, Ms. Granecki is a capable and hardworking professional who has made numerous contributions at this VAMC and to the profession of nursing”. After participating in a 10 year Nurses Health Study she reviewed a certification on behalf of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

From 1994-1999 while working at a Home Health Agency as an Education Coordinator and Interim Assistant Director of Clinical Services, with two small children, she completed her Masters in Nursing – Staff Development from UNC Greensboro. She then went back to the Durham VA from 1999-2008 as a Nurse/Nurse Educator and won the Honor-A-Nurse campaign from the North Carolina Foundation for Nursing in 2000, the Great 100 Nurse Award for North Carolina in 2000, the North Carolina Nurses Association award for Service Nurse Educator of the Year in 2001, and an award for Special Contributions from the VA in 2002.

In 2008 she began working as a Special Assistant at the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention within the Veterans Health Administration where she worked until her health began to decline in March of 2020. Here Nancy received a Certificate of Appreciation for her administrative and clinical expertise on the MOVE! Campaign. In total she received a service award in April of 2020 for 40 years of service to the VA. While Nancy achieved all these accomplishments her humble and caring nature out shined them all.

She was an active member of Fletcher’s Chapel Methodist Church in Durham, NC where a private funeral service will be held. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America LCFA or Mission 22 to honor her fight against lung cancer and her dedication to our veterans.