Nancy Wood

Nancy H. (Howlett) Wood 82, passed away on January 24, 2021 in the comfort of her home surrounded by family. She leaves her 3 daughters; JoAnn Wrona of Ludlow, MA; Deborah Lyons of Charlton, MA; Patricia Strycharz of Ludlow, MA; 2 sons; Steven Wood of Plant City, FL; Scott Wood of Springfield, MA; Her brother Oliver Howlett of Brimfield, MA; 11 Grandchildren and 17 Great Grandchildren; and her Companion of 21 years John Lee Simonson of Holland, MA. Nancy was born in Palmer, MA, daughter of the late Lewis Howlett and Anne (Morton) Howlett. She is predeceased by her brother Mason Howlett.  Nancy attended Tantasqua Regional High School. She enjoyed working as a waitress for 30+ years at numerous restaurants which included Cottage Hill and The Fort in Springfield, MA, The Homestead Inn in Ludlow, MA, The Top of the Hill in Wilbraham, MA and eventually retired from The Lakeside Restaurant in Wilbraham as the Restaurant Manager. She enjoyed her winters in Fort Lauderdale, FL accompanied by “Lee” where they enjoyed many cruise excursions, played Bingo regularly, visited favorite restaurants and enjoyed swimming as often as they were able. She had several friends with whom she shared the love of the games of Scrabble and Mahjong. Her favorite card pastimes were Cribbage played at the Holland Senior Center, Philadelphia Rummy with whoever she could find to play the game and Tuesday night cards with dear family and friends. For many years she and Lee had a weekly date to go to the Casino, always keeping tabs of their wins and losses just for the fun of it! Nancy’s favorite pastimes were the visits and phone calls from her cousins and friends, Caroline Greene, Dorothy Croake, Donna Corsini, Mary Studley, Chucky Smith and Lois & Eddie Artruc. She was a whiz in the kitchen, teaching her daughters JoAnn and Pat “everything” they know and love about cooking. She shared her love of birds with her daughter Deb. And she was always willing to share her expertise about nature and gardening. She spent many years as the cheering squad for her son Scott and grandsons Ryan & Brandon as they bravely navigated the world of Motocross. She looked forward every year to the Christmas holiday when her son Steve would pack up all 16 members of his family and caravan 4 hours in each direction to share a Christmas dinner and the best strawberries for shortcake EVER! One quality she left everyone with as she spent her final months in Holland was her humor. She often had words of wisdom that always came with humor. Her family and Hospice Workers would be taken by surprise as she often shared a humorous story or remark within their conversations. A quality that is sure to remain with all those with whom she spent her final days.   Belanger-Bullard Funeral Home, 51 Marcy St., Southbridge is directing arrangements. An online guestbook is available at  www.BelangerFuneralHome.com   <iframe class="ts_player" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameborder="0" height="330" scrolling="no" src="https://www.tributeslides.com/videos/embedded_video/BNLQFRJPF8W3BBTB" width="512"></iframe>