Jean Louise Nassivera

Jean Louise (Forsythe) Nassivera, who was born and raised in Hanover, died on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Wayne, N.J., with her daughter by her side. She was five months shy of her 100th birthday.

Born on Dec. 15, 1923, to Oliver C. Forsythe and Denalla I. Newman Forsythe, Jean grew up on Princess Street with her parents and her younger brother, Ronald (known as Hutz), who died in 1970.

She graduated from Eichelberger High School in 1941 and worked as a secretary at the J.C. Eisenhart Wallpaper Company in Hanover, where she met John William (Jack) Nassivera. She and Jack were married on April 21, 1951, at his parents’ home, and had two daughters, Joan and Jane Ann, whom everyone called Jan.

From 1964 to 1969, the family lived in the Boston suburb of Stoneham, Mass., a time and place that Jean took immense pleasure in. When they returned to Hanover, she worked as a bookkeeper for the Hanover Shoe Company, from which she retired in 1988, a year after Jack died. She then worked at Peggy’s Boutique, off Carlisle Street, behind what is now Shultz’s Delicatessen, until it closed.

Jean moved in 1989 to Deerfield Condominiums, where she lived until shortly before her death.
In her post-retirement years, Jean was an active volunteer with Trinity United Church of Christ and its Toy Workshop in Hanover, Meals-on-Wheels, and the Hospitality Shop at what was then Hanover General Hospital.

In addition to her parents, husband, and her daughter Jan, Jean was predeceased by her stepmother, Mildred Goodfellow Forsythe.

Her survivors include her daughter, Joan Page Nassivera, of Fort Lee, N.J.; a granddaughter, Amy Nassivera Thanasides (Anthony), of Westwood, N.J.; two great-grandchildren, George Anthony Thanasides and Louisa Jean Thanasides, of Westwood; her sister-in-law, Ada May Forsythe Koehler, of Hanover; a niece, Diane Smith (Michael) of Exton, Pa.; and two nephews, John Forsythe (Dorna), of Bon Secour, Ala., and David Forsythe (Marcia), of Littlestown.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, at Trinity United Church of Christ, 116 York Street, Hanover, followed by burial in Rest Haven Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation ( www.jdrf.org ), 200 Vesey Street, 28th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10281, would be appreciated.

The family would like to thank the outstanding caregivers who helped Jean live in her home on Deerfield Drive the last few years of her life. They are (in alphabetical order): Gloria Baumer, Vivien Hoffmaster, Jeanne Krill, Ally McKinney, Iris Nuñez, April Warner, Meg Warner, and Susan Warner.