Marie Botti Nanni, 100, died peacefully on Wednesday July 27, 2022, surrounded by her loving family.
After graduating from Lambertville High School in 1939, she went to work for the State of New Jersey in Trenton, N.J., as a secretary. She married Anthony J. Nanni in 1943 and during the war worked as a secretary at Finney General Hospital in Thomasville Ga., where her husband was stationed.
Upon returning to Lambertville, N.J., she continued to raise her family and became a founding member of the Lambertville Rescue Squad Ladies Auxiliary. During the early years of the Rescue Squad and for the 11 years her husband was captain, emergency calls came into their home. Since her husband would be responding himself, Marie would call other squad members to join him in handling the emergency. Depending on the situation, she would often have the operator connect her to more than one member at a time.
She was also involved with her husband’s photography business and could be found on Tuesdays in their darkroom printing photographs for the Lambertville Beacon.
Marie worked for a short time for Peter Funk of West Amwell, N.J., as a secretary and took great pride in typing up his “It Pays to Increase Your Word Power” column for Reader’s Digest. This was an accentuation of her lifelong love of words, which was most evident in her proficiency at the game of Scrabble and solving the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. Marie was a voracious reader and a lover of card games. For many years she had a weekly Pinochle game with her close friends.
In 1966, after a few years of working for her cousin Dot Woodhead at the Golden Pump ice cream store in New Hope, Marie, her husband, and brother Allan Botti, purchased The New Hope Village Store, the local grocery store, butcher shop and gourmet food store for the New Hope area. Marie thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the locals as well as the noteworthy artists, musicians and celebrities who regularly shopped in the store.
Upon selling the store in 1977, Marie worked part-time for the City of Lambertville in the Clerk’s office.
Marie was a lifelong parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic
Church and was a member of the West Amwell Senior Citizens.
Born Oct. 30, 1921, Marie was the daughter of the late Louis and Mary Burd Botti. She was pre-deceased by her husband Anthony Nanni Sr., her brothers Allan Botti, Oscar Botti and sister Sister Mary Leonore Botti, her daughter, AliceAnn Kroesen and her husband Rick.
She is survived by three sons, Louis Nanni and his wife Eva of Jacksonville Beach Fla., Anthony “Sparky” Nanni and his wife Sue of Clinton, N.J., and Richard Nanni, and his wife Carol of Perkasie, Pa. She loved and was loved by her 11 grandchildren, Victoria Nanni Hougaard, Verena Nanni Eissinger, MaryKay Myers, Christine Lacey, Jennifer “Evvie” Nanni, Jessica Nanni Stevens, Richard Nanni, Brett Nanni, Garrett “Tec” Nanni, Brittany Hirschoff and Deane Nanni. Her love and legacy continue in the lives of her 18 great-grandchildren as well as that of her many nieces and nephews whose lives “Aunt Marie” touched in so many ways.
Marie moved to the Hunterdon Care Center in 2014 and remained there under the loving care of the nurses and staff where she could be found participating in all their events and activities.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 44 Bridge St., Lambertville. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Calling hours will be Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at the Garefino Funeral Home, 12 N. Franklin St., Lambertville, N.J.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad, PO Box 237, Lambertville, N.J. 08530.
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