Dr. Nancy Felice Gabin

Dr. Nancy Felice Gabin, born June 21st, 1954, passed away after a brief illness on June 21st, 2024 at IU Health Hospice House in Bloomington, IN. It was her 70th birthday. Born in Brooklyn, NY to George Gabin and Ellen (Krames) Gabin and raised in Rockport, MA, Nancy is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Michael A. Morrison, her sister, Joanna Debs Gabin, and her grandparents, Sol and Evelyn (Brandner) Krames and Pincus and Gertrude (Scharf) Gabin. She is survived by her children, Natty S. Morrison of Lafayette, IN and Katie M. Morrison of Bloomington, IN, her sister, Carol Gabin Papagiannis of Somerville, MA, and her niece, Paulena Cancino Gabin Papagiannis (husband: Julián Cancino Gabin and daughter: Eleni Lucía) of Somerville, MA. Nancy served as a faculty member in the Department of History at Purdue University from 1983-2021, retiring after 38 years. She graduated from the Pingree School (South Hamilton, MA) in 1972 and went on to earn a B.A. from Wellesley College in 1977 and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1984. At Purdue, Nancy taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in U.S. women’s history, labor history, and social history. She held numerous administrative roles across campus and in professional organizations, but her central focus was to always advocate for students and ensure they weren’t “lost in the tangle of bureaucracy” of higher education. Her numerous accolades included the Jon C. Teaford Award, being written into Purdue’s Book of Great Teachers, and the university’s highest honor for undergraduate teaching, the Charles B. Murphy Award. Nancy also authored, co-authored, and edited many books, chapters, and articles on women, work, and the labor movement. Throughout her nearly 40-year career, Nancy was a consummate source of guidance, inspiration, laughter, and kindness to her many colleagues and the countless undergraduate and graduate students for whom her office door was always open. Nancy was a fervent reader with a brilliant mind. She was an expert at The New York Times crossword puzzle and a dedicated neighborhood walker. She loved art and music, Cape Ann, MA and the American Southwest, being near the ocean, fried clams, Michigan Football, and her many, many cats. Nancy held few things as close as her family. Her children, Natty and Katie, both hope to carry on her memory through her stoicism, humor, and compassion. A private burial will take place in Rockport, MA. Details of a celebration of life in West Lafayette, IN will be provided at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Almost Home Humane Society (Lafayette, IN), Eugene V. Debs Foundation (Terre Haute, IN), or Boston Workers Circle (Boston, MA). Allen Funeral Home and Crematory 4155 South Old State Road 37 has been entrusted with arrangements and online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with family and friends at www.allencares.com

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Dr. Nancy Felice Gabin

June 21, 1954 - June 21, 2024