Nancy W. Heady, 88, died peacefully on Aug. 14 at Fairview Hospital. Born on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, 1929, in Montague, she was the daughter of the late Edward and Kathleen O’Connell Wyman. As a young child, she was raised by her grandparents Fred and Mary Wyman in Turners Falls, Mass., due to the fact that her father was in medical school and her mother was in nursing school. In the early ’40s, her parents moved to Great Barrington where Dr. Wyman set up his first medical practice. Suddenly, Nancy went from “Queen Bee’ at her grandparents’ home to “Big Sister” to her three siblings, much to her chagrin.
Nancy attended Kenwood Academy of the Sacred Heart in Albany, New York, and then graduated from Searles High School in 1947. After high school, she attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City, graduating in June 1948. In August 1948, Nancy married Paul Merritt Heady and they celebrated 52 years of marriage. When their three children were of school age, Nancy began her career at Fairview Hospital as a medical secretary. She subsequently worked at her father’s practice until his retirement in the early ’80s. She then worked for Dr. William Adam’s orthopedic practice. Nancy was a member of the Thursday Morning Club and the Fairview Hospital Auxiliary, and was a volunteer at the Fairview Hospital endoscopy department, a position which she loved and held until shortly before her death.
Nancy is survived by her three children: Pamela Ivey and partner Edward Delmolino, Paula Doyle and husband Thomas, and son Merritt Brooks Heady and wife Gail. She also leaves her 10 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren: Mara and Ben Handy and their children Maile, Sam and Issi; Neil and Sara Ivey and their children Jackson and Lindsey; Carrie and Richard Herrington and their children Elle, Emma and Edmond; Hilary and Joel Mueller and their children Ivey Ann, Raiford, Mabel and Emily; Emily and Andrew Williams and their children Laura Ann and Abigail; Ayren and Paul Pfeifer and their children Mardi and Max; Brooks Anne and Shawn Burdick and their children Charles and Cecelia; Courtney Ivey; Jordan and Nicole Moskowitz and son Harrison; and Ashli and Peter Staszko and their children Merritt and Molli. She is also survived by her sister Betsy Wildman and her son Christopher Storti of Arizona.
Along with her parents, Nancy was predeceased by her sister Hannah W. Agar and her brother Edward “Tim” Wyman, her two nieces Kim and Lisa Storti, and her two nephews Mason and Timothy Whalen.
A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Nancy Heady will be celebrated Friday, Aug. 18, at noon at St. Peter’s Church, Main Street, Great Barrington, conducted by Rev. William P. Murphy, pastor. Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery in Great Barrington. The family will receive friends Thursday, Aug. 17, from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME in Great Barrington. Donations in memory of Nancy may be made to Fairview Hospital through FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. To send remembrances to the family, go to www.finnertyandstevens.com.
