Nancy A DJangi

Memorial Visitation Thursday, June 23, 5PM to 8PM at Leonard Memorial Home, 565 Duane Street Glen Ellyn, 60137

Memorial Service Friday. June 24, 5pm, at First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn, 535 Forest Ave, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
For those who cannot attend in person, the memorial service will also be livestreamed via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTyEI5fFlnU

On June 8, 2022, Nancy Anne Temple DJangi (née Saggars), loving mother, teacher, and friend,
passed away at the age of 78, surrounded by family..

She was born on July 10, 1943, to Wayne and Irene Saggars. Funny, warm, and bright, she grew
up in Crystal Lake, IL -- where her high school peers dubbed her “Crystal Lake’s Answer to
Carol Burnett” -- before attending North Central College. She distinguished herself as an
engaging actor, talented student, and the life of every party.

Her true home was a cabin that her father had built, log by log, on the shores of Lake
Windigoostigwan in Ontario, Canada. From the age of two, she spent nearly every summer of
her life in that cabin. She eventually filled it with her own children and grandchildren, with
whom she made many happy memories boating on the lake, reading on the porch, cooking and
baking, and coming together to play board games as stars gathered in the night sky. She was
happiest there, where she could fall asleep each night to the gentle call of loons on the lake.

Back in Illinois, she put her many gifts to use as a teacher. She taught theater, speech, English,
and the humanities at Conant High School, Morton Grove High School, and Proviso West High
School, where she touched the lives of countless students and transformed many of her
colleagues into lifelong friends. Her favorite book to teach was Harper Lee’s To Kill a
Mockingbird. She sometimes referenced one of Atticus Finch’s lines of dialogue: “You never
really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into
his skin and walk around in it.” That quote reflected her person-centered philosophy in life:
judge no one, love unconditionally, respect all, and dole out kindness generously.

Nancy had a gift for putting others at ease through her humor and warmth. She had many
qualities – empathy, wit, compassion, and generosity, just to name a few – but pride was not one
of them. In fact, she was an artist of self-deprecation, and spoke without the blush of self-
consciousness about nearly everything in life – the good, the bad, and the messy. Like Liszt or
Chopin had a repertoire of songs, Nancy had a repertoire of funny stories that, no matter how
many times she re-told them, were always uproarious.

Though Nancy had many names, titles, and roles throughout her rich and vibrant life, none was
dearer to her than “mother.” As Nancy always explained it, she grew up as an only child and
“overcompensated for it” by having five children with ex-husbands Harold Temple and Ahmad
DJangi: Matthew Temple (Maureen), Alexander Temple (Emma Elkarimy), Wayne Temple
(Kate), Taraneh DJangi (James Rotramel), and Parissa DJangi. They were the light of her life. In
the final weeks of her life at Loyola Medical Center, she made sure that every nurse and doctor
she encountered was introduced to and knew about her children.

In addition to her five children, Nancy is survived by nine grandchildren (Juliana, Jonathan,
Joseph, Aiden, Annabelle, RJ, Murphy, Dann, and Delilah, all of whom adored her); one niece;
two cousins; and countless friends who delighted in her presence.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in her memory to the Quetico Foundation:
https://queticofoundation.org/protect-the-park/.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Nancy A DJangi, please visit our floral store.