Nancy Kjellberg Dresser was born September 19, 1924 to Catherine Argue Mackenzie and George Kjellberg in New York, NY. She graduated Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond, VA in 1938 and enrolled at Radcliffe College,Harvard University, where she graduated in 1941 at the age of 17. One of the first women to study Chemistry at Harvard, specifically Analytical Chemistry, Nancy studied with George Kistiakowsky, a Manhattan Project veteran scientist. She would later work as a Chemist for Sloane Kettering Cancer Research in New York City (NYC) and Dorr-Oliver of Greenwich among others. Nancy’s first marriage was to Dudley Palmer of Greenwich, CT. She subsequently was briefly wed to Dr. Alan Adam.
While living in NYC, Nancy met and married James (Jim) van Benschoten Dresser of New York, NY. Nancy and Jim traveled broadly across Europe and the Middle East, while Jim workedfor Canada Dry International. Nancy grew to intensely love the Middle East, especially Beirut, Lebanon, where her daughterMarguerite was born. Nancy was also a great admirer of Middle East archaeology and history, and sustained several friendships over the years with people she had met while living there. After moving back to the States, Nancy mostly resided in Greenwich, CT and continued her contributions to the field of chemistry. Jim preceded Nancy in death in 1976.

Nancy passed away peacefully on April 26, 2017 at Touchpoints of Manchester Nursing Home in Manchester, CT. She was surrounded by care givers who were also her loving friends, and her daughter Marguerite and son-in-law Michael Kluchman were by her side.
Nancy is survived by her daughter, Marguerite Dresser and son Scott Dresser, as well as two grandchildren, Elizabeth Dresser-Kluchman and Henry Dresser-Kluchman. She is also survived by daughter Judy Palmer of Key West, FL and son Nelson Palmer of Surprise, AZ.
A short visitation will be held on Friday, May 5, 2017 at Castiglione Funeral Home in Greenwich, CT from 6:00-8:00pm. A morning burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY will follow on Saturday, May 6th, 2017 at 10:00am. Please visit www.castiglionfh.com for directions and more information. All who had connections to Nancy are welcome at either event. In Lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Nancy's name to Greenwich Library, The National Alliance fro Mental Illness or a charity of your choice.

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