Worked in education and real estate; dedicated to family
LYNNFIELD — Nancy A. (Brady) Cerniglia, 83, from Lynnfield, died peacefully while surrounded by her loving family on Feb. 14, 2024 after a long battle with cancer.
She was the beloved wife to Joseph A. Cerniglia. She was the devoted mother to Joseph A Cerniglia III of Uncasville, Conn.; and Dawn M Delaney, Carlyn A Beccia and Jamie E. Cerniglia, all from Lynnfield. She was the loving Gramma of Kayla Farias, Kyle Delaney, Devin Delaney, Ava Delaney, Charlotte Beccia and Johnny Beccia.
Nancy was born in Salem on May 7, 1941 to Ella Brady and James Brady of Melrose. After Nancy graduated from Melrose High School in 1957, she studied Education at Mount Saint Mary’s College in New Hampshire. Upon graduation, she started her first teaching job at Pine Glenn School in Burlington, teaching the first grade.
In 1964, she met her sweet soul mate, Joseph A Cerniglia, from Greenwood, Mississippi. Joe and Nancy married on July 9, 1966 and from 1967-1977, the couple had four children: Joseph, Dawn Marie, Carlyn Ann and Jamie Elizabeth.
After her children were grown and established, Nancy started her own real estate firm, Quality Homes Real Estate. She loved scrolling through multiple listings and going to see houses that she could potentially sell to her loyal customer base. It was through Nancy’s eyes that Nancy and Joe built a real estate portfolio that would eventually serve as their retirement and second family-owned business. Their love for real estate was a seven-day-a-week job, but the two loved this hobby and loved working together. Nancy would spot the opportunities, and Joe, an electrical engineer, would scrutinize the property for pitfalls.
Life in the Cerniglia family was not all work. Nancy will be best remembered for her devotion to her family. As a devoted wife and mother of four children, Nancy thrived for summers at Cape Cod, her Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, throwing birthday parties, holidays, or any opportunity to bring her family together and was a professional bargain shopper. As an exceptional homemaker and cook, Nancy loved growing her own food and cooking with husband, Joe. Together, they enjoyed their domestic responsibilities and loved preparing family meals on a daily. Takeout food was non-existent except for the Friday night’s “Fenway pizza.”
Lastly, and most importantly, Nancy’s devotion to her faith and God was profound. Nancy was a steward of her faith and enjoyed teaching religion to her grandchildren and others. She was a woman who practiced what she preached and found solstice in her relationship with God. It was through her strong faith that Nancy was able to conquer cancer four times, and in her final days, her mantra was, “Jesus, I trust in you.”
Nancy’s Funeral Mass was celebrated at Saint Maria Goretti Church, Lynnfield on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. The McDonald Funeral Home in Wakefield handled the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donate to The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research at https://lustgarten.org/?form=give.
