Nancy Anderson dies; EPA manager worked on mercury rules

Nancy Wilson Anderson, 42, an Environmental Protection Agency manager whose work included revising federal rules on mercury, died of esophageal cancer Dec. 30 at Capital Hospice in Arlington County. She lived in Falls Church.

Ms. Anderson worked on a range of issues during her 17 years at the EPA, starting with the agency budget and community liaison work on an Idaho Superfund site, then the redevelopment of contaminated sites. She worked on air pollution issues until settling into the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

Her work on the EPA's mercury regulations resulted in an EPA Gold Medal for Exceptional Service.

Nancy Harrison Wilson was born in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and grew up in Greenville, N.C. She graduated from the University of Georgia and received a master's degree in public administration from East Carolina University in 1991. She moved to Washington and began working at the EPA in 1992.

In the mid-1990s, she moved to the EPA's regional office in Seattle, where she discovered a love for fly-fishing and the Pacific Northwest. She returned to the District and settled on Capitol Hill, where she enjoyed Lincoln Park, Eastern Market and the Smithsonian museums.

Ms. Anderson, an avid gardener, was instrumental in establishing the Discovery Garden at Peabody Elementary School in the District. She and her family moved to Falls Church last summer.

Survivors include her husband of nine years, Will Anderson of Falls Church; two children, William Carl Anderson V and Ivy Edelen Anderson, both of Falls Church; her mother, Nancy H. Wilson of Greenville, N.C.; and two sisters.

-- Patricia Sullivan