Bill Clary

Nancy S. Tommaselli, May 26, 1954 - September 15,2018

Nancy was and will always be my sweet little adorable cousin. Her mom and my mom were sisters, two of five Tully children, all girls. Their mom and dad, Tom and Edna Tully, were "Mamaw" and "Grandpa" to us 13 cousins.

Nellie Lou (Nellie) was the eldest of the Tully girls, born in 1920 followed by Laura Ann Lowden (Lannie) in 1922, Patricia McGrath (Pat, my mom) in 1924, Margaret Jean (Marnnie, Nancy’s mom) in 1926 and Virginia Sprague (Ginny) in 1929.

Nellie married Jack Bolton and had three kids, Tommy, Alan and Susy. Lannie and Fred Wright had six, Lalle, Freddy, Gill, TJ, Philip and Patty. Pat and John Hills had Bud and Tish (me). Marnnie and Bill had Billy and Nancy. That makes 13. (Ginny never married or had children, so she was our fun “Auntie Mame.”) In my mind we are always 13, and I always thought 13 was lucky because of that.

Holidays, especially Christmases, were always wonderful. In the early years we all lived in or near Columbus, Ohio, so we'd wake up and have Christmas mornings in our own houses, then gather for dinner at Mamaw and Grandpa's. All the cousin families were there and the in-law families were invited too, as well as many others including Grandpa Tully’s much younger brother Dick (who was also an architect.) Dick and his wife, Frances, were often there with their two kids, Mary Beth and Rick, who were actually the ages of the cousins, and made us a group of 15!

So, it was a huge gathering. Tables were laden with food-- hams, turkeys, every side and dessert you could imagine. Mamaw had a built-in double oven and there was literally food covering every surface in the kitchen and beyond. Even the clean up was fun, our moms and the girls all joining in to wash and dry dishes, talking and laughing, some of us hoisting ourselves up to sit on the counters just to be close and join in. People were spread all over the house and in Grandpa's architecture office, a huge room he designed and had built over the attached garage addition. The drafting tables were cleared so people could eat there too.

After they had the basement finished, we cousins often gathered there. Here are 11 of us and some spouses and children in the basement, Christmas 1977 (see picture below).

When we were young, Mamaw would give the girl cousins matching outfits at Christmas. I especially remember the year we looked like little Swiss girls decked out in white blouses, red skirts and embroidered suspenders-like things with a cross piece in the front. At Mamaw and Grandpa's 50th anniversary party (June 14, 1969) all the girls had matching dresses, sleeveless, made by our moms who had dresses from the same fabric only with sleeves. Silly memories those.

Nancy spent her earliest years in Coshocton, Ohio, her dad's family's hometown. The delicious, fresh out of the garden tomatoes for sandwiches and ice cream made by her mom were highlights when we visited. Nancy and Billy were quite a bit younger than Bud and I, but both so cute and so much fun to play with. Most of Nancy's school years were spent in and around Mount Vernon, Ohio, following her mom's marriage to the owner of a camp in nearby Gambier. Some of the cousins spent summers there or went on the Western trip they ran every year.

Nancy was an awesome swimmer and competitor, both on the swim team and in fundraising. As I recall, she was always the top money-maker. She later attended Capital University in Columbus, leaving to marry and start a family. Her daughter, Erin, was born just two weeks before my son, Michael, so it was fun visiting Columbus, having the family gather at Mamaw's or Lannie and Fred's and seeing the babies together.

We lived far apart from each other most of our adult lives, but although we did not see each other often, we have always stayed in touch, sharing family news as our children have grown into adults. I am glad that Nancy is free from suffering, and I will always remember her as my sweet little adorable cousin.