Nancy Landry
1953-2023
The warp and weft of a life well woven unraveled on April 25, 2023, as Nancy Jean (Beattie) Landry, 70, of Westville, Nova Scotia, succumbed to cancer at Aberdeen Hospital, New Glasgow.
The daughter of the late H. Frederick and Anita (Noelle) Beattie of Welsford, Nancy was born Jan. 5, 1953, in Saint John, New Brunswick. A graduate of Mount Saint Vincent University (BSHE '74), Nancy briefly taught home economics before continuing to apply her craft-making skills in a series of retail positions. Although she hated work, she took great care and consideration in decorating displays and always kept her kindness for her coworkers. An impeccable gift-giver, she drew on a well of empathy to surprise others with what they didn't even know they needed.
Nancy is survived by her husband Brian, with whom, drawing on a pool of limitless patience, she shared nearly 50 years, countless kilometers of meandering drives and two sons, Joe (Kate) of Windsor Junction, NS, and Mike (Jacqueline) of Saint John, NB.
Just as she stitched together her family, Nancy purled untold hours away with quilting, sewing, knitting and other handicrafts. She shared this passion with various bees and groups including Mayflower Quilters, Thistle Quilt Guild and the Stellarton Knitters. This labour of love kept not only family and friends cozy, but she shared her gifts far and wide, including making dresses for children in Africa, sewing face masks en masse at the onset of COVID-19 and making quilts, mittens and socks for various organizations.
In her final hours, Nancy joked about the cruelty of a life spent wishing for bed and the desire, at the end, to be anywhere else. But, truthfully, Nancy was perpetually restless. Blue Jays games, movies and TV were the soundtrack to her projects. Bedtime was for books. Always having multiple tasks on the go made it possible to squeeze in cooking, cleaning, baking and gardening, too. Even anger didn’t slow her down, but fueled her to rearrange the furniture or change the curtains.
Although a homebody at heart, Nancy relished the macabre over the mushy. For someone who blossomed beauty into all she touched, she loved to retreat into the world’s grimiest and most gruesome corners. Holidays were spent with The Thing and The Devil’s Rejects, as she had an insatiable interest in horror and crime. The genres, and her unflinching sassiness, contradicted the kindness and faith that pushed her to volunteer with Viola's Place Society in retirement. Life, however, she must have known, like any fabric, can’t have a right side without a wrong.
Was this why Nancy loved cats so much? They were kindred spirits, mercurial creatures purring themselves to sleep in your lap, claws twitching in dreamland hunts.
Such were Nancy’s passions and pastimes, but the greatest share of her heart was kept for her grandchildren: Cameron, Abby, Aven, Rylan and Ursula. Although daughterless, she raised two boys who would become exemplary husbands and fathers.
Along with her husband, sons and grandchildren, Nancy is survived by sisters Irma Dunnett, Miramichi, NB, Anne (Lindsay) Nauss, Aylesford, NS, and brother, Robert, Truro, NS.
Besides her parents, Nancy was preceded in death by her sister, Susan Baxter, brother-in-law, Gary Dunnett, sister-in-law, Liz Beattie, and a lifetime of fur babies.
A funeral mass will be held at 11am, Saturday, May 13 at Holy Name Church in Westville, with a reception to follow. Donations in her memory may be made to Viola’s Place Society, 189 Marsh St., New Glasgow, NS, B2H 4R8. Arrangements are under the direction of R.H. Porter Funeral Home, New Glasgow.