Nancy (Ward) Duffy

LAKEVILLE — Nancy (Ward) Duffy, 81, of Sarasota, Fla., formerly of Tariffville, Conn., died peacefully Nov. 22, 2011. Nancy was born in Boston to Joseph M. Ward, a Massachusetts state representative, and Ruth Gibbons Ward. She was raised in Jamaica Plain and spent summers in the Rocky Nook section of Kingston, Mass. Nancy graduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in Brighton, Mass., in 1948. She received a Bachelor of Arts of Oratory from Staley College in 1952, and a master’s degree in elementary education from State Teachers College at Boston in 1953. She taught in Plymouth, Mass., the Chateauroux-Orleans American School in France, in Lakeville, in Tariffville and for 20 years at the Braeburn School in West Hartford, before retiring in 1990. Nancy served on the Simsbury Board of Education from 1973-1993, and served as its chairman for many years. She was active in the Ladies Guild of St. Bernard’s Church in Tariffville, and was a daily communicant at St. Martha’s Parish in Sarasota. She continued her love of both education and service by volunteering as a guide at Mote Marine Aquarium on Longboat Key, Fla., from 1998 through 2008. In 2008, Mote Marine honored Nancy with an award for 4,000 hours of service. Nancy hated both cooking and housework. If Betty Crocker didn’t make it, then neither did she, but she was happy to bring brownies, the paper plates and the folding chairs to any gathering. She loved, in no particular order, chocolate, jazz, theater, teaching, the special family friendships with the gang from Tariffville and the ocean. Nancy was a lifelong Democrat and was particularly involved in the presidential campaigns of Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore and Bill Clinton. She was also active in local politics in Simsbury and Sarasota. Nancy was predeceased in 1986 by her husband, Richard J. Duffy, with whom she shared 29 years of marriage. Before re-locating to Tariffville in 1964, Nancy and “Duff” were the proprietors of the Farnham Tavern in Lakeville. She is survived by their four children and their spouses, Deirdre Donohue and her husband, Joe, of Andover, Mass., Priscilla Armsby and her husband, Lee, of Latham, N.Y., R. Ward Duffy and his wife, Henny Russell, of Jackson Heights, N.Y., and Brian Duffy and his wife, Joan, of Tariffville; six loving grandchildren, Katherine, Elizabeth and James Donohue, Ashlee and Parker Armsby and Christopher Duffy; her brother, Joseph Ward and his wife, Dotty, of Silver Spring, Md.; her sister-in-law, Dorothy Somerville and her husband, Alan, of Sarasota; her dear and devoted friends, Angel Hissom and Mary Ackerman of Sarasota; her brother-in-law, Donald Duffy and his wife, Harriett Dean, of Sandwich, Mass.; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother, Robert Ward. Nancy’s family is grateful to the wonderful staff at Alderman Oaks in Sarasota who loved and cared for Nancy during the last three years. Friends may call at the Vincent Funeral Home in Simsbury on Friday, Dec. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Saturday, Dec. 3, at 11 a.m., at St. Bernard’s Church in Tariffville. Burial will follow in St. Bernard’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the classroom teacher, school or scholarship of the donor’s choice; or to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236. To sign an online condolence go to Nancy’s “Book of Memories” at www.vincentfuneralhome.com.