We have received this somber news from Donald Nitchie, former Editor of Banjo NewsLetter. It was shared by Sofia Nitchie, granddaughter to Nancy and current owner of the magazine.
It is with sadness I have to report that the great Nancy Nitchie has passed away. She was a legend and an essential member of the Banjo NewsLetter team. Here’s some more about her:
On September 7, 2026, Nancy Nitchie of Edgartown passed away. She was 96, a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, teacher, and beloved friend —along with avid berry picker, clam digger, monologist, do-gooder, gardener, quilter, singer, and repository of family lore.
Nancy M. Huntington Nitchie was born on Dec. 22, 1929, in Montclair, New Jersey, the oldest of four. Her parents, Fred and Mary Lee Huntington, met while teenagers in Chilmark, where both families spent summers on Quitsa Pond. Nancy grew up in Montclair, and stayed near Quitsa Pond each summer as well. She attended Boston University and graduated from Newark State Teacher’s College. While teaching school in Maryland she met her future husband, Hubbard Nitchie, who was stationed at the Naval Academy.
The couple settled in Annapolis, MD, and worked as school teachers while raising their three children. Nancy taught kindergarten and first grade for many years, and developed a rousing version of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt!
The family spent summers on the Vineyard, where Nancy enjoyed taking part in family musicales with her beloved uncles Gale and Willie Huntington. Everyone sang along to old tunes, with Hub on banjo, Gale on fiddle, and Willie on guitar. In 1973, while living year-round in Chilmark, the couple began publishing The Banjo Newsletter, a monthly periodical devoted to the 5-string banjo. As the magazine grew, Nancy took charge of circulation and answering the phone. The Newsletter widened their circle of friends and musicians, and for many years circulated worldwide.
In 1992 her husband passed away, and Nancy gave the magazine to her two sons, Donald and Spencer. After Spencer’s passing in 2021, the magazine shifted to his daughter Sofia Nitchie.
In 2007, Nancy moved to her house on Quitsa Pond—the one right on State Road with hydrangeas, roses, and day lilies. In recent years, she lived in Vineyard Haven, then Oak Bluffs, and finally Edgartown.
The many daffodils, azaleas, and day lilies she planted on her various properties on the Vineyard, or shared with other gardeners continue to grow to this day. She will be remembered in the hearts of her family and friends.
