Nancy Lynn Buscemi

Nancy was born in Spring Township, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on November 1960 to Fred and Ann Carothers. She passed away on July 7, surrounded by family and love.
She grew up in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, with her older brother, Tom, her younger brother, John, and younger sister, Mary.
Her big blue eyes gave her an innocent look which, paired with her predilection for mischief, made her a particularly dangerous force. She was also an exceptional mimic. Her talent for making pig noises delighted her high school classmates, though her teachers were significantly less appreciative. When one such teacher demanded the culprit behind the snorting and squealing reveal themselves, she bravely fessed up-only for the teacher to condemn the boys in class for letting "sweet and innocent Nancy" take the fall for what had clearly been their doing.
She attended Virginia Tech, where she met Phil during her junior year. She overlooked his tardiness on their first date, fully understanding his excuse: he'd been out selling beer koozies to fund a fraternity kegger. That night, they stayed up until 3 a.m., taking turns calling the radio station over and over until they finally heard their song request: "New Orleans Ladies" by LeRoux.
She graduated in 1982 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising and Design-and with the unique distinction of being the only student (to anyone's knowledge) to drive a Volkswagen Beetle on a sidewalk through campus before parking it in the Burruss Hall tunnel. She insists she was only the passenger, but her family remains unconvinced.
After college, she spent a number of years traveling the world. And even spent a few years living in Saudi Arabia where her parents had been working. Despite the generous offers her parents received from Saudi suitors to purchase her hand in marriage, she returned to the states and found her way back to Phil.
A few years later, she came home to find the lights dimmed, candles lit, and "New Orleans Ladies" playing through the speaker. Phil got on one knee. She said yes.
They married on Halloween. Partly because it was Nancy's favorite holiday. Partly because the venue was cheaper on that date. But mainly so "Phil would never forget our anniversary."
Nancy took a job with Coming Attractions in Manassas, Virginia, where she worked with Major sportswear companies from around the country. Later, she took administrative positions in both Westbriar Elementary and Oakton High School.
In 1992, she gave birth to her first son, Alex. Next came her second son, Stephen, in 1994. And she was a proud grandmother to Ben, Stephen's son, born in 2022. In addition to her human children, she also raised three beloved dogs with Phil: Max, Kody, and Cash.
Her motherhood could best be characterized by a typical morning in Northern Virginia. Her scurrying around the kitchen, tossing snacks into lunch bags, dragging around a dog who had latched his jaws onto her bathrobe, and shouting over the chaos as her kids turned eating breakfast into a competitive sport. Yet she meant it wholeheartedly when she called those years "the best time of my life."
Nancy taught her boys how to ride bikes and make friends. She read them Harry Potter books as they lay on the carpet, hands steepled beneath their chins. She lovingly referred to them as Dingus 1 and Dingus 2. She used to trace her wrinkles with a finger, explaining each one to her children like a soldier recounting battle scars: "This one's from when you were born. This one came on your first day of school. And all of these over here? Those are from when you hit puberty." A large portion of her vocabulary consisted of Forrest Gump, SpongeBob, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia quotes. She once saved the family dog after he chased geese onto a frozen pond and fell through the ice; she waded through the frigid, chest-high water, smashing the ice with a stick, then grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to shore. She would blast the Dixie Chicks in the car and cry the whole way to baseball practice. She loved puzzles and games and for a spell she spent more time playing the Nintendo Gamecube than her kids. She and her sister donned pink caps with cat ears and hit the streets of DC to fight for women's rights. She let out sarcastic gasps when the killer was revealed in cheesy cop shows. When Alex was young and anxious, she clipped the definition of "Confidence" from a magazine and taped it to his mirror. She loved to collect seashells and sea glass. She could guess every song that came on the oldies station within the first five seconds. She would well up with tears when she recalled the time she came face-to-face with a mother deer and shared a deep, psychic understanding of what it means to raise a living being. And when she was years into her battle with ovarian cancer, her body riddled with so many tubes and wires, she looked at her sons not with fear or sadness, but in that motherly way that disregards the self entirely and says, "Don't worry about me-are you okay?"
For those who wish to celebrate her life, a funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 2 at 11:00 AM at Money & King Funeral Home, 171 Maple Ave W, Vienna, VA 22180.
A reception will follow after the service at Patsy's American 8051 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182.
In lieu of flowers, in the memory of Nancy Buscemi. Donations may be made to Hospice of the Western Reserve Foundation P.O. Box 72101, Cleveland, Ohio, 44192 https://www.hospicewr.org/