Breast cancer took Nancy Hemingway. Norwell found a way for her spirit to live on

Sue Scheible, The Patriot Ledger
·5 min read

NORWELL − Growing up in the bucolic town of Holland, Massachusetts, Nancy Hemingway loved being outdoors. When she began bringing up her three daughters on 27 acres a few towns away in Sturbridge, she was always planning hiking and camping trips.

"I feel like it was always a part of her," her daughter Niki Wix says.

Nature was both Hemingway's inspiration and her refuge. After she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 50s, it also became her therapy, providing a sense of peace through a long series of difficult treatments. In between, her moments in the woods gave her strength.

Nancy Hemingway, Norwell's conservation agent, died of breast cancer in 2020 at age 59.
Nancy Hemingway, Norwell's conservation agent, died of breast cancer in 2020 at age 59.

When she died at age 59 in September 2020, Hemingway had served as Norwell's conservation agent for some 10 years, working right up to the end.

She had embraced many chances to pass along her love of the natural world. She spoke often about one dream of developing a garden and walking trails on a large, unused field at Circuit and Forest streets. A thin layer of soil with grasses covered a former gravel pit there and she saw so much more potential.

Meghan Bates, left, a daughter of Nancy Hemingway, reads a poem during the dedication of a memorial garden honoring the late Norwell conservation agent. With Bates are her sisters Niki Wix, center, and Danielle Kogut.
Meghan Bates, left, a daughter of Nancy Hemingway, reads a poem during the dedication of a memorial garden honoring the late Norwell conservation agent. With Bates are her sisters Niki Wix, center, and Danielle Kogut.

Now, her daughters say, her dream has come true.

About the same time as she was in treatment, Bob McMakin and other friends began planning for a garden with pink perennials, a native wildflower meadow and benches at the place that had captured her imagination.

On Sept. 17, a sunny Sunday morning, the Nancy Hemingway Memorial Garden was dedicated to Hemingway and all people touched by breast cancer.

From left, Meghan Bates, Danielle Kogut, Nancy Hemingway and Niki Wix stand together during Hemingway's cancer treatment in 2018. The three younger women are Hemingway's daughters.
From left, Meghan Bates, Danielle Kogut, Nancy Hemingway and Niki Wix stand together during Hemingway's cancer treatment in 2018. The three younger women are Hemingway's daughters.

More than three dozen family members, friends and members of four Norwell groups that had worked together − the garden club, the conservation commission, the beautification committee and Norwell Farms − stood proudly together.

The perfect way to embody her spirit

"We know that she would be so happy and incredibly honored to have such a wonderful space in her name," her youngest daughter, Danielle Kogut, said on behalf of the family. "The garden is the perfect way to embody her spirit."

Residents see the garden as the result of a community working together to honor one individual's legacy and improve and beautify the town. The location is at the intersection of three town walking paths.

Hadley Hemingway Kogut, 17 months, granddaughter of the late Norwell conservation agent Nancy Hemingway, is joined by Martha Gardner, left, and Amy Kogut, right, all of Maine, as they admire the garden that was dedicated in Hemingway's memory.
Hadley Hemingway Kogut, 17 months, granddaughter of the late Norwell conservation agent Nancy Hemingway, is joined by Martha Gardner, left, and Amy Kogut, right, all of Maine, as they admire the garden that was dedicated in Hemingway's memory.

Pink flowering trees will be added soon along the path to the Hemingway Garden. Norwell Farms hopes to develop the Norwell Community Garden in the same field with raised beds, picnic tables and space for programs about gardening and farming.

Hemingway's three daughters drove down from Maine for the dedication; four grandchildren were there with other family from many locations. Each daughter spoke briefly and with emotion about the joy their mother had found in her work and what the South Shore community meant to her.

"Not a day goes by we don't think of her. She's missed beyond words," Kogut said. "This means so much to us. We are so grateful."

Norwell Conservation Commission Chair Marynel Wahl, right, talks about the dedication of a garden in memory of the town's late conservation agent, Nancy Hemingway, as beautification committee member Sarah Baker, left, and Conservation Agent Will Saunders, center, look on.
Norwell Conservation Commission Chair Marynel Wahl, right, talks about the dedication of a garden in memory of the town's late conservation agent, Nancy Hemingway, as beautification committee member Sarah Baker, left, and Conservation Agent Will Saunders, center, look on.

The dragonflies in the meadow

As Sarah Baker, a beautification committee member, began to speak, she asked everyone to "just take a moment and see all the dragonflies in the wildflower meadow."

"She's here," Baker said of Hemingway.

The meadow has been replanted to attract bees, birds and native pollinators.

The late Nancy Hemingway was Norwell's conservation agent for about 10 years.
The late Nancy Hemingway was Norwell's conservation agent for about 10 years.

"This lovely meadow and garden has been a labor of love for so many people and is a true testament to Nancy and her ability to bring people together," Baker said.

She shared her memories of working with Hemingway on school community service projects. Norwell students had built bridges and benches on conservation land and cleared trails.

Family members and friends admire the memorial garden honoring the legacy of the town's late conservation agent, Nancy Hemingway, who died in 2020 of breast cancer at age 59.
Family members and friends admire the memorial garden honoring the legacy of the town's late conservation agent, Nancy Hemingway, who died in 2020 of breast cancer at age 59.

Baker recalled how Hemingway, "with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes," would envision how one day there would be trails, wildflowers and art sculpture installations on the former 2½-acre Donovan Field East, where her memorial garden is located.

"This garden took a community to build," Baker said. "This garden is the result of a community coming together to improve and beautify. We have made her vision come to life, with benches for people to rest."

Norwell Beautification Committee member Sarah Baker speaks with emotion about the late Nancy Hemingway, who served as the town's conservation agent for a decade, during the dedication of a garden in her memory.
Norwell Beautification Committee member Sarah Baker speaks with emotion about the late Nancy Hemingway, who served as the town's conservation agent for a decade, during the dedication of a garden in her memory.

She thanked the individuals, town boards, the water and tree and grounds departments, committees, the conservation commission and businesses that made donations and helped with tasks.

Invasive species in the fields were removed; the soil composition or health was strengthened. A water line was laid, and benches installed.

She made the world a better place

Will Saunders, the conservation agent who replaced Hemingway, steered through grant applications and town meeting approvals, made site visits and consulted soil experts and tree specialists. The Norwell Garden Club helped dig the garden and select the plants. Landscape specialist Barbara Cain created the garden design.

Town meeting approved $72,000 in Community Preservation Commission money for the project. Peg Norris offered expertise on grants and fundraising; Susan Solis steered the fundraising; Norwell Farms helped with a website.

"The world is a better place because of Nancy," Marynel Wahl, chair of the conservation commission, said. Wahl was involved in many aspects of the garden and stayed in close touch with Hemingway's family.

At the end of the dedication, before everyone was invited to Wahl's home for lunch, Hemingway's daughter Meghan Bates read a poem about the power of the woods and nature to restore spirits and offer hope.

During her cancer treatment, Hemingway had written poetry in a notebook she shared with her daughters.

A plaque dedicates a garden in memory of the town's late conservation agent Nancy Hemingway, who died of breast cancer.
A plaque dedicates a garden in memory of the town's late conservation agent Nancy Hemingway, who died of breast cancer.

In the poems, Hemingway expressed the comfort and hope she found in the trails, fields and woodlands she walked.

"The scent of the earth, heady and strong, reminds me of home, a place thought long gone," she wrote.

Donations with memorial bricks are still being accepted for the garden, but with checks mailed only to town hall.

Reach Sue Scheible at sscheible@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Community spirit blooms in Nancy Hemingway Memorial Garden in Norwell