Remembering Nancy:
She Knew All This and More

In these photos, we see Nancy just married with a radiant smile. We see her as a young mother with four children. We see Nancy and John in Florida and at the New Jersey beach during their later years enjoying quiet time during John’s remission. Finally, a photo of them working together at Seafood America, their family business, shortly before John got sick.

Moments in a life documented.

The photos here are signposts helping us to see “inside” their everyday world. Helping us see the intimate life they built together.

These photos and this profile offer us “just glimpses” of Nancy and of her character.

They help us to see all the many “little things” that made her special.

Clearly, on this unwanted journey with cancer, we recognize that Nancy was an anchor for John to hold onto in tough times.

Our mother, Anne Cecilia Willox, known as Nancy, was born on March 5, 1928. 

We don’t know when or why she was first called “Nancy” but she was always known as just “Nancy”.

She was born and grew up in Philadelphia in the Kensington and Allegany area of the city. Her parents had Scottish roots. She lost both her parents as a young married adult. Her children thus never knew her mother and father. She had two sisters, Jane and Marge. Nancy was the middle daughter. She had a wonderful Aunt Bet and Uncle Roland (he was a milkman), whom she was very close to. They visited her and her young family every week on Thursdays for years when we were in grade school. They often picked us up after school at the Assumption BVM grade school in Feasterville. These were magical and memorable car rides home in their Brown and White Chevrolet.

Nancy graduated from Little Flower high school. She met her husband, John, shortly after high school. They dated during the years John attended LaSalle College. They were married on February 4, 1950.

Nancy and John had four children.

Nancy, a much-beloved grandmother, had eight grandchildren.

She passed suddenly on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1996, 635 days after John’s death.

Nancy was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a devotional Catholic and an active member of the St. Bede’s Catholic Charismatic prayer community in her later years.

What made Nancy special?  

Many things. Indeed, she was an exemplary caregiver during her husband’s 39-month journey with cancer. We know that from John’s book and his journals.

Beyond that, however, one trait stands out dramatically and that is “friendship”.

Importantly, Nancy was a beloved friend to hundreds of people. She and Lucy Schickling were the best of friends, confidants, neighbors, and fellow travelers, for over 50 years.

Friendship and caring were her DNA.

She had a knack for getting close to people. She cared deeply. You were a friend of Nancy’s for life. Her world was a wide world with room for many.

She was also practical and resourceful. She worked part-time after her children were raised. She worked at Arties (a local, first of its kind, discount clothing store). We all have colorful memories of the never-ending stream of clothing gifts we received weekly from her time at Arties. Later, as a widow, she and her friend Lucy worked for Hallmark one day a week selling and stocking greeting cards at a local supermarket.

In a single phrase, Nancy lived “a full life”. She had a big world full of friends and an even bigger heart. And she left a legacy of caring and friendship.

Her legacy is different from her husband’s legacy of faith and courage. Her legacy is relevant and inspiring in important “everyday” ways to all of us as we navigate the ups and downs of a lived life. Each day we learn from her about friendship and caring.

In a mysterious and grace filled way, even now, she keeps us (her children and grandchildren), on track, steady, and keeps us in line, like a good Mom. And we are very grateful.