Nancy K. Carbonneau Obituary

Nancy Carbonneau (1948-2024), originally from Braintree, MA, passed away peacefully after a long, complicated battle with adult onset epilepsy.

Nancy was first and foremost a caregiver. She worked first as a nurse, and then went on to earn a degree from Boston University in pediatric physical therapy. She dedicated her career to working in early intervention with children from birth to three years old, and she was infinitely passionate about caring for infants and children with neurodevelopmental differences and their families.

She did some work for home health agencies over the years, but would adamantly refuse to see adult patients stating "that was not a good use of her time" and ultimately would need to move on from those organizations because of their regulations. Professionally, she had great disdain for any type of meeting or paperwork that interfered with her supporting her patients.

Nancy was a loving and devoted single mother of two children, Alana and Paulie (who had cerebral palsy), from 1975 to 1995, and received so much love and assistance from her sister Jane Tully and her brother-in-law Mark Tully, to the extent that Nancy and her children lived with them for a time until Jane and Mark helped her acquire her own housing. She also spent many summers at their Cape Cod home where the family would have special annual gatherings for Paulie's vacation times.

In 1995, Nancy married Edward Carbonneau and they spent many happy years together traveling and hiking all around the world. In addition, Nancy loved spending time with her daughter Alana (and bought a house in Waterbury, VT to be closer to her), her sister Jane, her brother John, her grandchildren, her nieces and nephews and her best friend of 60 years, Dottie Driscoll. Nancy and Ed got a great deal of joy out of bringing the family together for gatherings as often as possible in Vermont, Rockport, or anywhere else their adventures would take them.

An ideal day for Nancy would most certainly include a road race with neurodevelopmentally different children, watching the Boston Celtics, and watching sailboats from her oceanfront home every day in Rockport, MA, where she was adamant about staying until the very end.

She is survived by her husband, Edward Carbonneau; daughter, Alana Lowry and son-in-law Will; grandchildren, Emma and Maxwell; stepdaughter, Beth Gagnon and son-in-law Todd; grandson, Noah; and two other stepchildren, their spouses, seven other grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; sister, Jane Tully and brother-in-law Mark; brother, John Keefe and sister-in-law Janet, nieces, Sara and Kaitlin; niece, Danielle; and nephew, Sean.

She was predeceased by her son, Paulie Hennessey, and parents, John and Eileen Keefe, who continually supported Nancy in raising her children with love and affection.

Nancy often expressed frustration with her medical situation which spanned five world renowned hospitals. However, we are most grateful to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center for getting to know her and taking such good care of her until the end. She was a kind and generous woman who will be missed by all those that knew and loved her.

Visiting hours will be held in the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester, on Friday, October 18, 2024, from 5-7 pm. Burial will be held at the Calvary Cemetery, 165 Eastern Avenue, Gloucester, on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at 11:30 am.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to New England Pediatric Care or the Thom Anne Sullivan Early Intervention Center.