COOPERSTOWN – On Sunday morning, July 19, 2026, Nancy J. Mercer passed from this life peacefully in her residence at the Cooper Lane Apartments in Cooperstown with family by her side. She was 85.
A native of the Cooperstown area, Nancy
Anne Jarvis was born August 26, 1940, at home in the Town of Middlefield, one
of five children of Fred Stanley Jarvis and Goldie May (Merritt) Jarvis.
In 1942, Nancy and her family moved to
Christian Hill where she grew up on the family farm. She graduated from
Cooperstown Central School with the Class of 1958.
On August 30, 1958, Nancy married John G.
Mercer.
Nancy lived a very full life; she was married
to her husband John for 47 years until his death in 2005. Together they raised
3 amazing children, started and successfully operated several businesses,
traveled to many locations, and lived in different parts of New York. In 1995
John and Nancy fulfilled one of their dreams of living in Florida where Nancy
lived until the fall of 2025 when she returned to Cooperstown. She was an avid
reader, amazing quilter, had an incredible sense of humor but most importantly
she was always there to support her children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. She will be truly missed but her memories will live
forever.
Nancy is survived by her three children,
Pamela S. Harloff of Toddsville, John “Jay” Mercer and wife, Theresa of
Osceola, New York, and Jeff Mercer and wife, Leah of Tucson, Arizona; seven
grandchildren, Lindsay Harloff Edmondson and husband, Matthew of Braintree,
Massachusetts, Christopher M. Harloff, Jr. and wife, Alyssa Granato of
Westland, Michigan, William Harloff and girlfriend, Jamie Bruce of Glens Falls,
Amanda Rusin and husband, Adrian of Bucharest, Romania, Nicholas Mercer and
girlfriend, Emily Carino of Columbia Falls, Montana, Rebecca Mercer and
husband, Quincy Gray of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Alexander Mercer of Phoenix,
Arizona; and two great grandchildren, Arabella and Leo Rusin of Bucharest, Romania.
She is further survived by a sister, Janice Gray and husband, Ken of
Cooperstown, brother-in-law, Eugene “Gene” Miller of Cooperstown, and several
nieces and nephews.
Nancy was predeceased by her father, Stan,
who died February 9, 2002; her mother, Goldie, who died December 21, 2011; her
husband, John, who died February 8, 2005; a son-in-law, Christopher Michael
Harloff, Sr.; and three of her siblings, brothers Theodore “Ted” Jarvis, James “Jim” Jarvis and sister Judith C. “Judy”
Miller.
At the request of the family, services
will be private. Nancy will be laid to rest with her husband in the Fly Creek Valley
Cemetery in Fly Creek.
In lieu of flowers, Nancy’s family would
appreciate that donations in her memory be made to Helios Care, 297 River
Street Service Road, Oneonta, NY 13820.
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
