Nancy Louise Spuria, a longtime resident of Ponte Vedra, died May 11, 2016. She was born October 10, 1937 in Newton, Mass.
In 1954, Nancy met the love of her life, Tony Spuria, on a blind date. In 1955, she graduated from Newton High School. After a brief stint at Gamewell Corporation (the world’s leading fire alarm box manufacturer), she and Tony were married in 1958, and have been inseparable ever since.
In 1959, Nancy and Tony started their family with the birth of Karen (the apple of Nancy’s eye). Nancy’s finest accomplishment, David, was born shortly after in 1960, and Joseph (the black sheep of the family whom Nancy adored) was born in 1963. As Tony embarked on his meteoric rise in the corporate world, Nancy served as CEO of Spuria Inc., setting up home in Newton, Mass.; Derwood, MD; Winston Salem, NC; San Antonio, TX; and Ponte Vedra; and raising two bright and beautiful children (Joe was not all that bright or beautiful).
In addition to raising a family and putting up with Tony, Nancy enjoyed miniature doll housing (as the proprietress of the retail juggernaut “Miss Muffet’s Miniatures”) and tooling around in her 1957 Ford Thunderbird. She was a superb cook and traveled extensively throughout the world, including to Africa, South America, China, Europe, Middle East, Russia, New Zealand, Australia and, her favorite, Fiji. Nancy was a fierce card and board-game player who regularly whipped Joe in Scrabble and David in Spite & Malice (Google that one).
She had a sharp sense of humor, which was a pre-requisite to living with Tony, and a trait that she passed on to her children. She also passed on to her children a house full of knick knacks, gewgaw, gimcrack, and tchotchkes of questionable utility.
Nancy is survived by her devoted husband, Tony; sons David (Deanna) and Joseph (Cindy); grandchildren Annie (Luigi), Alex, Matthew, Nikki and Henry; brother George (Connie); and sister Linda (Terri). Nancy was predeceased by sister Gloria (Alan) and daughter Karen, two beautiful souls who left us too soon.
A memorial service for Nancy was held May 18, 2016 in the Chapel of Quinn-Shalz Funeral Home of Jacksonville Beach. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257 (communityhospice.com).
Please visit our online tribute at www.quinn-shalz.com. Services under the direction and care of Quinn-Shalz Family Funeral Home.
