Patricia Langenbach (Dwyer)

Nancy was a friend of mine in High School but I lost touch with her after graduation.  So sad to hear the news. My prayers go out to her family.

This is the article for Nancy: Nancy B. Gertzberg was a daredevil, outdoorswoman and animal lover. Her longtime boyfriend was pursuing his pilot's license when he was killed in an ATV accident in 2008. Gertzberg decided to honor his memory by learning to fly. "Her passion for flying unfortunately was her demise," said Aileen Couser, Gertzberg's older sister. Gertzberg, 61, was killed Monday when she and her flight instructor, Allan B. Richter, crashed seconds after taking off from South Albany Airport in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration and Bethlehem police, and representatives from Cessna. Gertzberg grew up in the Westmere section of Guilderland and graduated from Guilderland High School and earned an associate degree from SUNY Delhi. She then began a long career as a lab technician at research laboratories throughout the Capital Region. Couser said her sister worked at labs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Albany Medical Center and Albany Stratton VA Medical Center before becoming lab manager at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2007. Couser and Gertzberg's friend Chris French of Poestenkill described her as quiet, funny, daring and hardworking. "If we ever needed anything, she was there," French said. Gertzberg loved her work and her students, particularly foreign students who were far from home. She invited them to her Petersburgh home on Friday nights, and the students cooked food from their native cuisines and watched movies. Gertzberg enjoyed skiing, snowmobiling, ATVing and horseback riding. She competed in several horse shows and broke her collarbone a few times before giving up equestrian riding in favor of flying. In 2008, Gertzberg's longtime companion, Robert Brinkman Sr., died in an ATV accident near their Poestenkill home. "She decided she wanted to carry on his passion for flying," Couser said. Gertzberg earned her sport pilot license, allowing her to fly light aircraft during the day in good weather, and was pursuing a private pilot's license. "She was in the final stages," Couser said. Gertzberg was preparing for her "checkride," which is the final test before receiving a private pilot's license. It involves an oral test and flight with an examiner. Gertzberg hoped to complete it before winter arrived. Gertzberg had several flight instructors before she met Richter. "She thought he was the best," said Bill Couser, Gertzberg's brother-in-law. "She said 'He gave more information, and he was more relaxed, and he teaches me rather than give me commands.' " Gertzberg and her flight instructor shared a love of the outdoors, flying and scientific day jobs. Richter, 48, was a technician at GE Global Research, where he worked on new technology for the energy and jet propulsion industries. He lived in Delmar with his wife and two children. Gertzberg was the sister of Dr. Marvin Gertzberg and has several nephews and a niece. "She just had a really good heart," Couser said. "She loved what she did."