Nancy A Otchy

Nancy Anne Otchy, born May 23, 1944 in Brooklyn NY, died peacefully on January 8, 2020 in her home of 40 years in Fanwood, NJ after a brave battle with ALS.

 A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday January 13, 2020 at 10 am, St Bartholomew the Apostle Church, Scotch Plains. Visitation will be
on Sunday January 12, from 2-4 & 7-9 pm at the Rossi Funeral Home Inc. 1937 Westfield Avenue Scotch Plains.  Interment will be at St Gertrude Cemetery, Colonia.

In lieu of flowers Donations are requested to be made in memory of Nancy to: Mobile Meals of Westfield
170 Elm Street, Westfield NJ 07090.

Nancy spent her early years with her parents, George and Eleanor Hamlin and brother, George, on Lawrence Ave in Brooklyn. She attended Pope Pius school. During the summers, she visited the Hamiln ancestral home in Saugerties, NY.

While working at New Jersey Bell, she became friends with Meg Otchy, who later introduced her to her brother, Tom, who had just arrived home from the University of Missouri in September of 1966. Nancy and Tom were married in Elmwood Park, NJ on February 22, 1969. They moved into an apartment in Cranford, and had their first child, Michael. They moved to Fanwood in May, 1973. Five years later they moved around the corner to a home they intended to stay in temporarily. Although they often made plans to move, life got in the way, and they live in that home to this day.

They had a second child, Carolyn, who died as an infant in 1975. Their third child, Christopher was born a year later. In February 2019, they celebrated their 50th year of marriage.

In October 2018, Nancy was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Again, Tom thought it was time to move, but Nancy had other ideas. She said, “we raised a family in this house, we spent most of our married life in this house, I want to die in this house.” On January 8, 2020, she succumbed to the effect of the disease with her husband at her side.

Nancy loved to entertain and was an accomplished cook and gracious host. She began working with Mobile Meals of Westfield in the 1980s, first as a driver, delivering hot meals to the home bound, and later served as president of the organization for over 40 years. She was an active parishioner at St. Bartholomew the Apostle parish where she was a lector, eucharistic minister, and served in a number of other ministries. She was named a Dame of St. Bartholomew’s in 2008.

Nancy is survived by her husband, Tom, sons, Michael and Christopher, and daughters-in-law, Susan and Emily. Nancy was the epitome of elegance, beauty, and grace. Her heart and generous spirit live on in all who knew her.