Memorial Service
Please join us as we honor Nancy's life on Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 2pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis
333 Dubois Rd, Annapolis, MD 21401
A reception at the church will follow the service
We invite you to join our family for an Open House on Sunday, October 10, 2021 from 12-4pm
441 Waggamon Circle, Annapolis, MD 21403
Born in Boston to Dr. John Gordon Scannell and Helen LeBosquet Scannell, Nancy was raised in Belmont and graduated from Columbia University School of Nursing in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She then worked as a nurse in New York City, Boston and Madison, New Jersey. On August 31,1975 she married David whom she met serendipitously while bicycling in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
In 1979 and 1981, Nancy welcomed her two children. She cared for them full-time until she resumed work as a nurse at Hinsdale Hospital in Hinsdale, Illinois in 1992. She and David moved back to the Boston area in 2001 where Nancy worked on the surgical floor at Newton-Wellesley Hospital until her retirement in the spring of 2019. While Nancy experienced many changes in the nursing field throughout her long career, her professionalism, empathy, and devotion to her patients and colleagues never wavered. In the fall of 2019, she and David moved to the waterfront home they had built in Annapolis, MD, where they had hoped to spend many years together in retirement.
Nancy enjoyed many adventures with her family, including intrepid sailing trips along the Atlantic coast, from New York to Newfoundland. One highlight included their arrival at her parents’ summer cottage in Prince Edward Island, Canada in 1993. In 2004, she and David built a home on Washabuck Peninsula in Cape Breton where they spent many summers, often joined by family and any friends willing to make the trip to this remote but beautiful place.
Nancy’s life was rooted in daily routines and annual family traditions. She was a natural hostess who curated beautiful spaces and meals for her family to enjoy. She always filled her home with music; though not a musician herself, she had wide-ranging and eclectic musical interests. Nancy cherished the daily ritual of creating a home-cooked meal to enjoy over wine and conversation, and hardly broke a sweat preparing delicious Thanksgiving meals for 25+ guests.
“Nanny,” as she was affectionately called, frequently saw her grandchildren and cultivated deep relationships with each of them. They gravitated towards her warm and playful energy, and they were one of her greatest joys in life. Committed to maintaining her own physical fitness, Nancy walked, ran, skied, lifted weights, swam, kayaked and rowed. She celebrated her 60th birthday by running a half marathon before hanging up her running shoes. She broke her shoulder badly in 2014, and, much to the surprise of her doctors, restored it to full functionality. Her motivation: she wanted to hold her young grandchildren again.
Modest and understated, Nancy was a rock of support to a great many people. She will be missed by her loved ones more than words can express. She often ended her phone conversations with the words “carry on.” May her loving memory allow us to do so.
Dear Katie and family,
My heart and prayers are with you all. The tribute for Nancy is quite special and tells the story of a wonderful life of devotion to family and patients and friends... a life well lived and one that blessed. Our friendship in Hinsdale was too short but I loved being with her.
We went on a ski trip to Colorado with Alison Nelson and another friend and the extra fit Nancy and Alison left me and my skills in the dust but we had a great time!
Best love to you all as you cherish this wonderful life! (did 2 messages... couldn't find the longer story choice) OJ
-403.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
-961-151.jpg){kind=link}
