Nancy Kuntz

Nancy Howell Kuntz, 96, of South Egremont passed away peacefully on May 30, 2026 at Geer Lodge in Canaan, CT. 

Born in Dayton, Ohio on July 13, 1929, she was the daughter of Clarence D. Howell and Josephine Brazier Howell. Nancy graduated from Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1947.She was accepted to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in the five-year Architecture program. Nancy was the only woman in the freshman class of 55 students. 

She faced sexual discrimination throughout the five years of study and graduated in 1952 at the top of her class. Nancy was one of only 15 of the 55 architecture students who graduated that year. Nancy worked as a draftsman and architect at two firms in Dayton from 1952-1955. In November 1955, Nancy married Donald Kuntz and moved to western New York and then to Massachusetts in 1962. After the birth of her daughter, Bonnie, in 1962, Nancy eventually started her own architectural business. She designed numerous residential and commercial buildings and additions throughout the Berkshires and New York until she retired in 2010 at age 81.

Nancy designed work “pro bono” for the Town of Egremont including the fire station and renovation of the town hall, as well as serving on the Egremont Planning Board and Historical Commission. She also designed the tennis pavilion and Golf Pro Shop for Wyantenuck Country Club in Great Barrington.

Nancy was an avid tennis player, skier, cyclist, and walker all through her life continuing into her late eighties. As one of her tennis friends and neighbors remembered it, “Nancy’s singular pursuit of victory on the WCC tennis court was her ability to trounce us!”. She pursued this quest into her 80’s until her eyesight started to fail. Nancy’s daily walk to the Post Office in Egremont with her backpack in place, no matter what the weather, was a model of health and discipline for many years.

Nancy is survived by her daughter, Bonnie Greenwood, of Nederland, Colorado; nieces Lynn Dwyer, Linda Kandra, and Judy Ford; nephews C. Daniel Howell and William Pease, as well as many great nieces and nephews. Nancy had many dear friends, who will miss her dearly, including Scott Marks and Kelly Loring of Sheffield, MA; Carole Handler of South Egremont, Phyllis Aiges and Paula Ober of South Egremont.

There will be a graveside interment at the Hillside Cemetery in North Egremont in June 2026. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Nancy’s name can be made to the Visiting Nurses and Hospice of Litchfield County, Connecticut https://www.vnhlc.org/giving/donate/  or the Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org/?form=FUNDHYMMBXU