Nancy (Dunn) Smith Hart passed away peacefully on Sunday Aug. 16, 2026. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she grew up alongside her younger brother, Robert (Bob) Dunn, and was raised by her parents Norman and Helene. She graduated from T.L. Handy High School in 1956 and went on to attend Michigan State University, where she studied special education and was a sister of Alpha Gamma Delta. Later in life, she also received her master’s degree in reading from Loyola University. In 1959, she married Louis Smith, who passed away in 1996. Together, they had four children and raised them in Severna Park, Maryland.

In 1999, Nancy remarried to her great love Royal Hart. Together they called Annapolis, Maryland home and were married for 10 wonderful years. During this time they enjoyed travel to places like Oregon, California, Europe and Bermuda. Always on the go, they wined and dined in Annapolis weekly meeting up with family and friends and hosted many family cookouts and holiday dinners.

Nancy taught at Maryland School for the Blind and later as a special education teacher for the visually impaired for Anne Arundel County Schools, where she would retire in 1999.

Nancy loved to travel, most notably to the Outer Banks with her family every summer. She loved watching football and religiously rooted for the Michigan State Spartans and Naval Academy. She was very social and enjoyed a good happy hour, specifically at Caroll’s Creek and Adam’s Ribs with her many, many friends. As a senior, she loved attending the knitting club at the Annapolis Senior Center which she would attend weekly.

She was a creative soul, growing up playing the piano and violin. Throughout her life, knitting and sewing were beloved hobbies that she got to share with her friends and family, gifting hand-made blankets, scarves, quilts, dresses for her granddaughters, and more for birthdays, holidays, and important occasions.

Above all, Nancy, affectionately known as Babe, was a proud mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She loved spending time with her family and was a loyal attendee of every sports game, musical theatre production or recital her kids and grandkids had throughout the years. She was very active in her grandchildren’s lives serving as stage mom, chauffer, babysitter, and even picking up sick grandchildren from school so their parents could work.

Nancy’s legacy is one of giving, friendship, and love–and she will always be cherished and remembered by those lucky enough to have spent time with her. She is survived by her children, David (wife, Julie), Karen (husband, Steve), Suzi (husband, Tom), and Scott (wife, Eileen), step-children, Evalee and Gordon, nine grandchildren, five great grandchildren, her brother Robert Dunn (wife Jennifer), and many nieces and nephews. Nancy will forever be in our hearts. Thank you for a lifetime of beautiful memories.