Nancy Ellen Brejtfus-Giancola
July 9, 1950 — March 15, 2015
Nancy Ellen Brejtfus-Giancola, 64 of Stamford, CT. Devoted wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and sister passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday March 15, 2015 at Stamford Hospital following a brief but courageous battle with Cushings Syndrome and Neuro-Endocrine Cancer. She was born in Fitchburg, MA at Lucy Helen Hospital on July 9, 1950 to the late Stanley and Florence Grimley Brejtfus.
She attended Clinton Senior High School in Clinton, MA and graduated in 1969. Classmates remembered Nancy as having the “nicest personality,” being “sweet and sincere,” and “quiet and soft-spoken.” She then attended Mount Auburn Hospital School of Nursing in Cambridge, MA. She lived in Boston and put herself through school by working as a nanny. She met her future husband Nicholas Giancola, through her sister Jean and brother-in-law Ken, while Ken and Nicholas were serving in the Marine Corps. Nancy and Nicholas married in 1972 and began their life together in Stamford, CT. Nancy attended Norwalk Community College graduating with a degree in nursing. She worked as an RN at the former Homestead Health Center Nursing Home in Stamford, CT, the Stamford Board of Health where she was a public, private and parochial school nurse, oriented school nurses, and community based health programs for 24 years. She also was active in the nurse’s union and sick bank management. After retiring, she helped to raise her grandsons whom have brought her endless enjoyment, fulfillment and love.
Nancy’s greatest accomplishment along with her husband Nick was raising her loving and devoted daughters. She always graciously put her family’s needs and wants in front of her own. She was kind, generous, conscientious and extremely loving.
She was a voracious reader and member of a book club with close friends. She enjoyed the outdoors while drinking a cup of coffee in the morning, listening to the birds sing, and looking at her beautiful gardening landscape which she created each spring. Nancy loved hosting holidays while cooking creative and delicious meals for her family.
Her favorite place was at the beach, listening to the waves crash with her feet in the sand, and vacationing with family and friends.
Nancy was survived by her husband of almost 43 years, Nicholas Giancola, Jr. of Stamford, CT, daughter Kate Giancola-Enders, son-in-law Christopher Enders, and their children Jackson and Maxwell of Cheshire, CT
daughter Elizabeth Giancola and her fiancé Michael Golove of Trumbull, CT,
Her sister and best friend Jean Robinson and her brother-in-law Kenneth Robinson of Leominster, MA,
her extended family Karen and Michael Piancenza, Ann and Lou Servideo, and Jon Giancola. Several nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Besides her parents she was predeceased by her brother-in-law Paul Giancola.
A funeral procession will be leaving the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford at 9:10 AM on Thursday, March 19, 2015 for a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10:00 AM at St. Maurice RC Church, 358 Glenbrook Road, Stamford. Interment will follow at Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien, CT. Family and friends may call at the funeral home on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 from 4:00-8:00 PM.
The family would like to thank the healthcare staff, nurses and doctors at Stamford Hospital, especially the Intensive Care Unit for their tireless professionalism, kindness and support during this difficult time.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Nancy’s memory to The Carl & Dorothy Bennett cancer Center, 34 Shelburne Road, Stamford, CT 06904
To leave online condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com
She attended Clinton Senior High School in Clinton, MA and graduated in 1969. Classmates remembered Nancy as having the “nicest personality,” being “sweet and sincere,” and “quiet and soft-spoken.” She then attended Mount Auburn Hospital School of Nursing in Cambridge, MA. She lived in Boston and put herself through school by working as a nanny. She met her future husband Nicholas Giancola, through her sister Jean and brother-in-law Ken, while Ken and Nicholas were serving in the Marine Corps. Nancy and Nicholas married in 1972 and began their life together in Stamford, CT. Nancy attended Norwalk Community College graduating with a degree in nursing. She worked as an RN at the former Homestead Health Center Nursing Home in Stamford, CT, the Stamford Board of Health where she was a public, private and parochial school nurse, oriented school nurses, and community based health programs for 24 years. She also was active in the nurse’s union and sick bank management. After retiring, she helped to raise her grandsons whom have brought her endless enjoyment, fulfillment and love.
Nancy’s greatest accomplishment along with her husband Nick was raising her loving and devoted daughters. She always graciously put her family’s needs and wants in front of her own. She was kind, generous, conscientious and extremely loving.
She was a voracious reader and member of a book club with close friends. She enjoyed the outdoors while drinking a cup of coffee in the morning, listening to the birds sing, and looking at her beautiful gardening landscape which she created each spring. Nancy loved hosting holidays while cooking creative and delicious meals for her family.
Her favorite place was at the beach, listening to the waves crash with her feet in the sand, and vacationing with family and friends.
Nancy was survived by her husband of almost 43 years, Nicholas Giancola, Jr. of Stamford, CT, daughter Kate Giancola-Enders, son-in-law Christopher Enders, and their children Jackson and Maxwell of Cheshire, CT
daughter Elizabeth Giancola and her fiancé Michael Golove of Trumbull, CT,
Her sister and best friend Jean Robinson and her brother-in-law Kenneth Robinson of Leominster, MA,
her extended family Karen and Michael Piancenza, Ann and Lou Servideo, and Jon Giancola. Several nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Besides her parents she was predeceased by her brother-in-law Paul Giancola.
A funeral procession will be leaving the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford at 9:10 AM on Thursday, March 19, 2015 for a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10:00 AM at St. Maurice RC Church, 358 Glenbrook Road, Stamford. Interment will follow at Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien, CT. Family and friends may call at the funeral home on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 from 4:00-8:00 PM.
The family would like to thank the healthcare staff, nurses and doctors at Stamford Hospital, especially the Intensive Care Unit for their tireless professionalism, kindness and support during this difficult time.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Nancy’s memory to The Carl & Dorothy Bennett cancer Center, 34 Shelburne Road, Stamford, CT 06904
To leave online condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com
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