WESTFIELD – Nan passed away on Saturday May 20, 2023 at the age of 75. She was traveling in Italy with her husband Gary and four of their dearest friends when she died unexpectedly but peacefully. She was having a glorious time enjoying life and putting a smile on the face of everyone she met, as was her trademark.
Nan was born in Lancaster, Ohio and always considered herself a “Buckeye”. She grew up in northern Illinois where she spent summers water skiing around Fox Lake. She moved to Massachusetts while in her twenties and became a licensed practical nurse working in a hospital, a doctor’s office and as a field coordinator for a home health care agency. When her children were older she worked in the Westfield school system, ultimately retiring from the position of secretary in the High School Guidance Office (she ran the place). She loved helping students prepare for their future as evidenced by her spending ten years, after retirement, volunteering with the Westfield Citizens Scholarship Committee.
Nan loved to travel. Growing up she traveled with her parents and her sister to various National Parks and other venues. After retirement, she and her husband Gary spent six wonderful, weeks driving cross country, exploring and experiencing. Whether on a cruise ship or traveling on a muddy, backwoods country road she always had an infectious smile on her face. She loved life and people, she saw the good in everything and everyone.
She will be remembered for her nutty sense of humor, behind which was an intelligent, strong and steadfast individual who was always loyal to family and friends. She loved to read but only from a book. She somehow felt closer to the subject matter with the binding in her hand. Nan’s greatest passion was in the caring for family and friends. She lived in service to all who needed it, and she did this with grace and without expectation. Her selflessness extended to everyone she met and we are all better people because of this. She brought joy and love to everyone she met, she was a nurturer and a constant source of light. Nan was proud of the accomplishments of her three loving children and was always there to listen and to love without judgement.
Nan was pre-deceased by her parents Roy and Kate Stallsmith, her father-in-law Kenneth Pease and her brother-in-law Danny Oleksak. She leaves behind her forever grateful husband, best friend and soulmate her “Bubba “ of 46 years, Gary, her loving children, her daughter Rebecca Freeman and her husband John, her son Mark Pease and his wife Marisa, and her daughter Kristen Pease and her fiancé Natalie. Nan had four grandchildren, Nicole and her husband Tim, Michael and his partner Ashley, Mia and Ross, and two great-grandchildren Madeline and Keegan. She also leaves behind her beloved mother-in-law Barbara Pease. Nan will be forever remembered by her sister, Charlcy Oleksak.
Calling hours will be held on Saturday June 3rd 2023 from 1pm-3pm at the Firtion Adams Funeral Home, 76 Broad Street, Westfield, MA. The Memorial Service will be held for friends and family on June 4th at 1pm at the Worthington Congregational Church, 159 Huntington Rd. Worthington, MA. All are welcome. In Nan’s cheerful spirit, we encourage the wearing of brightly colored attire, animal prints are welcome. In lieu of flowers, we are requesting donations be made in Nan’s honor, to CSF WESTFIELD DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS, P.O. Box 382, Westfield, MA 01086-0382. Web address csfwestfield.dollarsforscholars.org and email address, [email protected]. www.firtionadams.com
