Obituary for Nancy Anne St. Amand (Murphy)
It is with the greatest of sadness that our family announces the passing of a very much loved wife, sister, nanny, aunt and best friend, Nancy St. Amand.
Nancy lived her life to the fullest. She was full of love, laughter, adventure, class and beauty.
She loved being surrounded with her family and friends (her second family).
She grew up in what became known as the “Murphy Zoo” and she had the type of bond with her sisters that many siblings would envy. They spent their early lives putting on endless skits to entertain their mother’s co-workers and carried that love of performance (Nancy would say, “I don’t know if “love” is the right word”) into now famous performance acts such as The Lemon Sisters.
She was an avid skier for most of her life and put us all to shame as she patiently waited at the bottom of every hill for us to join her. Despite trying to teach us all, none of us could ever quite match the effortlessness with which she glided down the hills.
Nancy loved to travel and went on many adventures with both her friends and her family. From Ellicottville to Florida to Europe, from skiis to kayaks to bikes…she did it all.
She loved to golf and spent many years golfing once a week with her golf girls. She was always up for trying anything new, including disc golf, which never quite became her forte. Our league will be named the “Aw Shit! Frisbee Golf League” in her honour though.
Nancy was the original recycler who wrapped sandwiches in milk bags that she had carefully washed and lovingly dried. She didn’t waste anything, ever. She loved to clean with a passion that was just short of madness.
One of her greatest loves was a little shih tzu with an underbite, named Doc. And while Doc could take or leave the rest of us, he loved Nancy. We are sure as we write this, they have been happily reunited and are enjoying some nice heavenly walks (with Doc trying to bite people as they go).
She met her partner Stan in a rare online dating success story. Stan fit into the family so flawlessly, we knew their partnership was meant to be from the get-go. Coming into Stan’s life allowed Nancy the opportunity to have several grandchildren in her life, whom she loved and delighted in watching grow up for many years.
Through her entire diagnosis and sickness, she remained eternally positive, unfailingly brave and impeccably stylish, but as she said during one of her most famous verbal faux pas many moons ago, “when your number’s up, your numbers up.” It was called too soon for our liking, but when isn’t it?
We will miss her always.
Cremation has taken place and she will be laid to rest with her infant son Michael in Victoria Lawn cemetery. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, May 13th, 2023 at 2pm at 1333 Third Street in St. Catharines.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Nancy’s name to Wellspring Niagara.
Nancy lived her life to the fullest. She was full of love, laughter, adventure, class and beauty.
She loved being surrounded with her family and friends (her second family).
She grew up in what became known as the “Murphy Zoo” and she had the type of bond with her sisters that many siblings would envy. They spent their early lives putting on endless skits to entertain their mother’s co-workers and carried that love of performance (Nancy would say, “I don’t know if “love” is the right word”) into now famous performance acts such as The Lemon Sisters.
She was an avid skier for most of her life and put us all to shame as she patiently waited at the bottom of every hill for us to join her. Despite trying to teach us all, none of us could ever quite match the effortlessness with which she glided down the hills.
Nancy loved to travel and went on many adventures with both her friends and her family. From Ellicottville to Florida to Europe, from skiis to kayaks to bikes…she did it all.
She loved to golf and spent many years golfing once a week with her golf girls. She was always up for trying anything new, including disc golf, which never quite became her forte. Our league will be named the “Aw Shit! Frisbee Golf League” in her honour though.
Nancy was the original recycler who wrapped sandwiches in milk bags that she had carefully washed and lovingly dried. She didn’t waste anything, ever. She loved to clean with a passion that was just short of madness.
One of her greatest loves was a little shih tzu with an underbite, named Doc. And while Doc could take or leave the rest of us, he loved Nancy. We are sure as we write this, they have been happily reunited and are enjoying some nice heavenly walks (with Doc trying to bite people as they go).
She met her partner Stan in a rare online dating success story. Stan fit into the family so flawlessly, we knew their partnership was meant to be from the get-go. Coming into Stan’s life allowed Nancy the opportunity to have several grandchildren in her life, whom she loved and delighted in watching grow up for many years.
Through her entire diagnosis and sickness, she remained eternally positive, unfailingly brave and impeccably stylish, but as she said during one of her most famous verbal faux pas many moons ago, “when your number’s up, your numbers up.” It was called too soon for our liking, but when isn’t it?
We will miss her always.
Cremation has taken place and she will be laid to rest with her infant son Michael in Victoria Lawn cemetery. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, May 13th, 2023 at 2pm at 1333 Third Street in St. Catharines.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Nancy’s name to Wellspring Niagara.