Jeffrey’s causes included the homeless, mental illness

Columbus philanthropist and public servant Nancy Jeffrey died at the age of 88 on Thursday at her home.

She was known for confronting significant social issues, including homelessness and mental illness. She was involved in a significant number of local organizations that tackled those issues and served as president of the United Way of Central Ohio. She also helped found the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board and Jeffrey the Community Shelter Board.

Jeffrey, born in Hudson, New York, moved to Columbus after meeting her husband Robert H. “Tad” Jeffrey, a well-known businessman and philanthropist who died in 2016. They were married in 1951.

Her friends said Jeffrey believed that everyone should be treated with dignity.

During her activism, Jeffrey also turned her joy of cooking and entertaining guests into a Bexley cookware store called Good Things. The store closed in the early 1980s.

One of her favorite things, her family noted in her obituary, was playing board games with her grandchildren.

Jeffrey recently funded the creation of the Washington Gladden Social Justice Park. The Downtown park honors Columbus’ social justice leaders and was Jeffrey’s way of honoring her late husband, she said in previous Dispatch articles.

She is survived by her four children, 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at First Congregation Church Downtown, with a private burial at Green Lawn Cemetery. A time and date for those services has not been set.