Vincenza Rose Nagy

Vincenza "Vincy" Rose Nagy (nee lanni) was born in Lorain, Ohio on December 2, 1934. Her parents, Domenica (nee Fiorvanti) and Emidio lanni raised five beautiful daughters in a little white house on 21st St. Vincy was their fourth child. The eldest was Rose, followed by Gina, then Mary, and after Vincy, the youngest, Clara.
Vincy died peacefully on July 19, 2025 in Boynton Beach, FL, in the loving care of her daughter, Helen. She is survived by her three children, Robert Nagy, Helen Evangelista, and Gina Nagy-Burns; as well as her daughter-in-law, Karen Holcomb; son-in-law, Christopher Burns; and her grandsons, Gregory and Alexander Evangelista, and her sister, Clara James.
Growing up in Lorain, Vincy was a highly creative, imaginative, and self-starting young person. Her first job was at age 13, dipping chocolates for Faroh's Candy on Broadway. She would use her earnings to buy fabric and spent hours making her own clothing. At 16, Vincy was named runner-up in the Miss Lorain beauty pageant, she proudly walked the runway wearing a gown of her own design. Vincy had a beautiful lyric soprano voice and remained a member of a church choir throughout her life, beginning with the choir at St Joseph's.
Vincy and her husband, Robert Nagy, found each other through a shared love of classical music. He first glimpsed her when he attended a production of the Mikado at Lorain High School. Sitting in the back row, Robert watched Vincy performing "Three Little Maids " and he fell smitten with her beauty, talent, and charm. He, too, was an aspiring singer. A tenor, whose future took him on a path to a 30+ year career singing with the Metropolitan Opera Company. He and Vincy were well suited for a life together devoted to the arts.
In 1954, Vincy and Robert married. Within a year they packed up their life in Lorain, bundled up their one year old son, Bobby, and drove a gray and white Buick Century eastward. They began this new chapter from an apartment in Hollis, Queens. Robert took the train into New York City for rehearsals and performances at the Met, and Vincy began to design their home life. Eventually, they bought a house on Long Island and their family blossomed in earnest. Their home was filled with music, whether it was Strauss and Verdi, or Hendrix and The Beatles. Vincy always endured to make home a place where one felt deep love and that all things were possible.
In the early 1970's, Vincy taught art classes at St. Joseph's middle school in Garden City, NY. She was ahead of her time, creating projects that incorporated found objects and items that, today, would be considered "recycling". She was entrepreneurial and fearless when it came to pursuing a passion. She and a friend started a business hand-making decorative pillows, eventually they were being sold in department stores in NY. She worked for several years in an art gallery; selling and restoring artwork. And in the early 1980's launched an antiques and estate sale business with her daughter Helen. At the time, there wasn't any service like it in the area and very quickly they had a steady stream of clients. She later wrote a step-by-step "How-To" book on establishing an estate sale business. The book sold on Amazon for quite a few years.
In the late 1980's, when Robert retired from his career, he and Vincy returned, full-circle, to Ohio. They purchased a house in North Ridgeville and relished being home. This was a period of bringing family and friends together in celebration, and music was ever the centerpiece. Whether it was her husband belting out a high-C in the middle of the living room or her children singing and playing the guitar, partygoers could always count on being entertained with sound and revelry.
During her years in North Ridgeville, Vincy involved herself in many new and exciting ventures. She took courses in creative writing at Lorain Community College and served on the Arts Council. In the early 1990's she initiated a support group for mothers at St. Peter's Church (North Ridgeville) called The Mother's Club. Weekly meetings were held in a room at the church, it became a safe space for mothers of all ages to come together and speak freely about what was happening in their lives. The Mother's Club and its members were something Vincy held very close in her heart, and the club still continues to this day. Vincy also loved to write poetry and prose. Quiet moments spent writing became a place of solace for her. She organized a poetry club that would meet in her home to share and support each other's work. She also wrote songs and played them on the guitar and piano. Some were humorous, like "Frankie and Fanny": a song about two frogs who croaked loudly in the pond outside her window. Others were more serious and heartfelt explorations about relationships, faith, and aging. In her later years, she took pleasure in designing one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. They were artful little creations fashioned from all kinds of vintage crystals and beads.
Throughout Vincy's life it was her heart and faith that guided her. Those who knew her well and those who just met her could feel this in her presence. There was something wondrous about being in her orbit. She always spoke about the power of the "creative spirit" and how it infused life with joy, meaning, and purpose. She inspired this belief in everyone she knew, especially in her children. She will be missed beyond measure by all of us who were touched by her kindness, passion, and beauty.
The family will receive friends at Reidy-Scanlan-Giovannazzo Funeral Home, 2150 Broadway, Lorain (440) 244-1961 on Monday, July 28 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Closing prayers will be held at 10:20 AM at the funeral home on Tuesday, July 29, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM at St. Peter's Parish, 3655 Oberlin Avenue, Lorain OH, with Fr. Craig M. Hovanec, Pastor, officiating. Christian entombment services will be held at Calvary Cemetery in Lorain. Memorial donations may be made at the funeral home in Vincy's memory to Catholic Charities Cleveland Diocese. Online condolences and gifts of sympathy may be shared with the family by using www.rsgfuneralhome.com.