College Says Goodbye to “Nurse Nancy”

On Monday morning, friends and family filed into Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel for the funeral Mass of Dr. Nancy Anne Faller, beloved nurse of Thomas Aquinas College, New England.

Former patients of “Nurse Nancy,” as she was known, as well as the College’s students, faculty, and staff filled the pews — with many wearing scarves, headbands, or fascinators, per Dr. Faller’s request. Mass began at 10 a.m. with a long procession of altar servers and priests preceding her plain, wooden coffin, as unbleached candles flickered along the pews.

Head Chaplain Rev. Greg Markey offered the Mass in the Extraordinary Form and gave the homily after the readings and the Dies irae sequence, sung by the men’s Gregorian chant choir. “This beautiful Mass, with its large turnout, is a clear sign of the impact Nancy had during her life,” he began. “We were all beneficiaries of her experience.”

Fr. Markey praised Dr. Faller’s persistence and plucky attitude, even through the worst of her sufferings, and encouraged the students to take note of her perpetual trust in God’s mercy. “She did not want her suffering to go to waste,” he said. “She consciously offered up her cross for all her intentions: her family, her friends, and the students of TAC, all of whom she loved immensely.”

Following the Mass, the funeral procession made its way to Our Lady of Czestochowa Cemetery for the burial ceremony. A veteran of the U.S. Army who served her country during the Vietnam War, Nurse Nancy received full military funeral honors. Her casket was draped under the country’s flag, which was then presented to her caretakers, Simone (Kelly) and Nathanael Cassidy (both ’22).

The group then returned to campus for lunch in the Bl. Frassati Student Center. Tables were full as Nancy’s friends and family bonded with each other, sharing stories and fond memories of the woman who had loved and cared for them. “It was an absolute privilege to have known her,” one friend said. “I know she’ll be praying for all of us, so we should all remember to keep her soul in our prayers, too.”