Nan Lee Howkins

On May 12, 2020, Nan Lee (Rivers) Howkins passed away peacefully after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by family at her daughter's home in Durham, NH.

Nan was born on June 17, 1941, the only child of Raymond E. and Margaret "Tisch" (Dorr) Rivers, and raised in Essex Junction and South Burlington, Vermont. At Burlington High School, she was a high honors student who was known for her ability to throw a hard fast ball, her beautiful alto voice, the hours she spent figure skating with local Olympians, and for her generosity of spirit and readiness to help friends and anyone in need.

Nan earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Vermont, where she met her life-long partner, Dr. Stuart Howkins, a post-doc in physics from the University of London who amused her by falling asleep during a lecture. Stu and Nan were married in a candlelight ceremony on June 13, 1964, and then moved to Chicago, where Nan worked as a Research Assistant in the lab of Dr. Charles Huggins, a cancer researcher who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1966 for discovering that hormones could be used to control the spread of some cancers. She was a key member of Dr. Huggins' team, and a successful advocate for equal pay for female researchers in the lab.

Nan originally planned to pursue a PhD in biochemistry, but after the birth of their daughters Heidi Lee and Julie Anne in 1968 and 1969, she and Stu moved their young family to Ridgefield, Connecticut. There, Nan started a play group for children of working parents, which quickly grew to dozens of children. She realized that many other parents needed affordable, quality child care, and dedicated herself to developing early childhood education curricula and a "FlexTime" business model that met the diverse needs of parents who worked varying shifts or commuted to New York.

Over the following four decades, Nan founded and directed six successful preschools and child care centers in southwestern Connecticut: "My" Nursery School (1975-2015), The Ridgefield Children's Center (at St. Mary's Church, 1976-1981), The Brookfield Children's Center (1976-1981), The Children's Corner (at Barlow Elementary School, 1994-2015), Kaleidoscope Kids (1991-1994 and 1997-2015), and All For Kids (2003-2013). She was a fixture in the Ridgefield community. Between 1975 and 2015, the schools provided education and care to approximately 15,000 children and parents, and employed thousands of teachers and directors.

"Nan was a great mentor, a devoted and staunch advocate for all children," Anne Crofts Mead, the Executive Director for the Early Care and Education Training Institute, wrote in a memorial tribute.

In addition to improving the work-life balance for thousands of families by offering a FlexTime schedule with the ability to choose hours from week to week, Nan provided consulting services to dozens of child care centers across the U.S. She stirred up controversy in the early childhood education field in the 1980s and 90s by giving talks at the National Association for the Education of Young Children and other organizations arguing that child care centers could be profitable, and that profitability is the key to quality. Her 1995 book, Profitable Child Care: How to Start & Run a Successful Business, described how to write a business plan and manage programs that offer both flexible scheduling and a quality curriculum.

Nan was also a loving wife who supported her husband, Stu, while he trained and competed in marathons and ultramarathons during the 1970s and 80s, including the 1988 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. She joined him in retirement adventures ranging from whitewater rafting in Alaska to sea kayaking off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

Throughout her life, she enjoyed bird watching, and singing in the choir, most recently at the First Congregational Church in Ridgefield, CT, and with the Riverwoods Choir in Exeter, NH. She will be remembered by all who knew her as deeply intuitive, compassionate, and always generous. She will be dearly missed, and her loss has left a void in the hearts of those who knew her.

Nan is survived by her husband, Stuart D. Howkins, of Exeter, NH; her daughter, Heidi Howkins Lockwood and partner Bill Lockwood of Durham, New Hampshire, and their children, Devi, Kai, and Camrynn; and her daughter, Julie Anne Grubb and partner Danny Grubb of Wytheville, Virginia, and their children, Brandon and Brie.

ARRANGEMENTS: Due to COVID-19 restrictions on gathering, services will be postponed. The family hopes to gather in Exeter, NH over the holiday weekend in October for an apple cider-making party and memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations of any size to the Nan Lee Rivers Howkins Memorial Fund to benefit students in the College of Education at the University of Vermont: http://go.uvm.edu/howkins.

To view Nan's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.