Jean Gantt Nuzum

Jean Gantt Nuzum, age 85, of Chapel Hill, died on November 18, ending a two-decade struggle against dementia.

An identical twin and the youngest of four girls, Jean was born on April 14, 1940, in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to the late Rachel Williams Gantt and Colonel Henry Perkins Gantt. The family moved frequently between Army bases and Jean had childhood memories of Pinehurst, NC; Munich, Germany; Washington, DC, and Dothan, Alabama. She spent her adolescence in Gloucester Point, Virginia, where her father bought a riverfront property to farm in his retirement.

She shared the honor of Gloucester High School co-valedictorian with her twin sister Lynn before matriculating to Sweet Briar College, where she earned a Bachelor’s in American History. She later received her Master’s of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University and another Master’s from Smith School of Social Work.

She married Dr. Claude Thomas Nuzum in 1970 and the couple moved to Chapel Hill in 1974 with their baby Christine. Their son Henry was born in 1977. She lovingly drew on her social work expertise as a full-time mother before she joined Orange County Department of Social Services, where she worked for many years placing foster children with adoptive families. She was a cofounder of Friends of Orange County Department of Social Services. In the 1990s, she earned her ACSW and CCSW accreditations and established a private practice in clinical social work.

Generous, warm and spontaneous, Jean also had an iron will and a relentless work ethic. She was a dogged advocate for her own children and those she represented at DSS. She played tennis, often on a team, at “The Farm” in Chapel Hill, and she took up rowing and cross-country skiing in middle age. She was an expert gardener and enjoyed chatting with neighbors who walked by as she tended her flower beds. Like her parents before her, she often tuned in to the Saturday radio broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera - Verdi and Mozart were her favorites. She made enjoying and creating music and art a priority in family life.

Jean’s sociable personality began to shift when she reached her mid-60s, and it became clear that she had early-onset dementia. Her decline was slow however, and she was delighted in being a grandma. As most facilities slipped away, she held fast to her closest connections. Suddenly ill in her final week, she still talked lovingly to her family and called them each by name.

She is predeceased by her parents and two sisters, Sally Galloway and Ann Mueller. In addition to her husband Tom and her two children, she is survived by her sister Lynn Cavanagh, and her grandchildren, Sally, Russell, Ariana, Mario, Leila and Thomas.

The burial service will be held at the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill on January 10, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Chapel of the Cross or Friends of Orange County DSS, https://friendsoforangecountydss.org/donate-2/

The family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, Inc.