Nancy C. (Creel) Goranson

Nancy C. (Creel) Goranson of Pocasset died on October 3 at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston. She was 64.
Born in Washington, DC, she was the daughter of Paul and Isabel (Butts) Creel.
Dr. Goranson received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from West Virginia Wesleyan College, a master of science in clinical laboratory science from Northeastern University, and a doctorate in biology from the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
For the past seven years, she had been a lecturer in medical microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, teaching more than 1,000 student nurses and those preparing for other medical fields.
Since 1984 she had taught other microbiology courses, anatomy and physiology, and general biology at UMass Boston, Cape Cod Community College, Curry College, Bridgewater State College, and Massasoit Community College. She was also employed in a research laboratory at Children’s Hospital in Boston, and in clinical labs at the Carney Hospital, in Boston, where she received clinical laboratory certification, and for eight years, at Falmouth Hospital.
Dr. Goranson had been a member of the viola sections of the Cape Symphony Orchestra for 12 years, and more recently, of the UMass Boston Chamber Orchestra. Earlier a volunteer piano accompanist in Bourne schools, she was also a junior choir director and occasional substitute church organist.
Over the years she held several church offices and was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Chatham. She volunteered at the Woods Hole Folk Music Society and was an avid kayaker.
She leaves her husband, William R. Goranson; her children, Alicia Goranson of Franklin and Carol Goranson of Somerville; her brother, Philip Creel of Columbia, South Carolina; and many cousins.
A memorial service will be held tomorrow at 11 AM at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street/16 Cross Street, Chatham.
Donations in Dr. Goranson’s memory may be made to the Nancy Goranson Biology Fund, University of Massachusetts Boston, Attn: Gerald Tuckman, VC University Advancement, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125.