Nancy was born in county Roscommon, Ireland on August 24, 1932. She was baptized with the name Annie Burke but over time took on the name of Nancy after coming to the U.S. She was one of seven siblings born to Mary Ann Naughton and Michael Burke. She is survived by her last living sibling Johnny who lives in Ireland. Wanting a better life in America, she bravely sailed to NYC at the age of 19 and lived and worked in a convent with her sister Elizabeth in Westchester. After 2 years, she wanted to leave the convent and move to NYC and got a job as a telephone operator and then in a bank. At age 24, she met Joseph Fitzsimons at a dance in City Center in Manhattan. They fell in love and got married on April 12, 1958. They settled in a beautiful house in Throgs Neck in the Bronx and welcomed 4 children, Barry, Debbie, Patricia and Joseph. Nancy stayed at home and raised her children while Joseph worked as a butcher. They started a successful meat business together and Nancy worked hard as the bookkeeper. Seeing that Joseph was working too hard at his day job and the business, she suggested he retire at 50 and they buy a small hotel up in East Durham, NY (the Irish Catskills). They ran a thriving motel called the Fitzsimons’ Sunset Motor Court for 10 years until they decided to sell it and fully retire. During those years, the family was expanding and they welcomed their grandchildren Samantha, Chandler, Julia, Nicholas, Christian, Ian and Logan.
They became snowbirds, spending time in East Durham and winters in Vero Beach, Florida. After owning a couple of different houses in the area, they discovered a wonderful community in Del Mar where they purchased the condo of their dreams on the ocean. Slowly over the years, their time in Vero kept increasing until they became full time residents. Their years in Vero Beach were filled with wonderful memories of being active, enjoying community activities and dances and socializing with their friends. Nancy loved dancing, doing her water aerobics in the morning and watching her soap operas in the afternoon. She enjoyed whenever her family would visit and loved seeing her grandchildren growing up. She welcomed her great grandson, Arthur in May of 2023 and enjoyed every picture and video sent to her! Surrounded by her family, she passed away peacefully at the age of 91. She is missed greatly by her husband Joseph and her children, grandchildren and great grandson.