Nancy Coleman

Nancy Tenney Coleman, 97, died peaceably at her home in Greenwich, Connecticut on Friday, October 20, surrounded by her children and cherished caregivers. A beloved mother, Nancy is survived by five daughters, Tangley Lloyd of Stuart, FL; Anne (Pinky) Laffoon of Cincinnati, OH; Rande Coleman of NYC; Caroline Coleman of NYC; Wendy Coleman of Cos Cob, CT. and one son, Robin Coleman of Thomasville, GA.,

Born Nancy Campbell Tenney on January 3, 1920, Nancy grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts and spent summers in Hyannis Port. She was a graduate of Miss Porter’s School, Class of ’38. In 1942, Nancy married Demarest Lloyd, Jr. of Washington D.C. and South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, a navy pilot who was killed in World War II just two years later.

Nancy and daughter Tangley moved to Washington, D.C. to join her parents, Colonel and Mrs. Rockwell C. Tenney, where she volunteered with the American Red Cross. There she met Robert S. Coleman, of Lake Forest, Illinois. They married in 1947 and raised a family of six children in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Her civic pursuits in Greenwich were many. She brought Barclay Dancing Classes to Greenwich and hosted annual events to support the Blind Brook Polo Club. She championed sailing at the Belle Haven Yacht Club, opened a Greenwich antique store, “Bagatelle Antiques” and, as President of the Calhoun Drive Association, blocked the Town from turning the neighborhood into a thoroughfare. As chairperson of the West Lyon Farm Landscape Committee for many years, Nancy established a legacy for the proper care and nurture of trees and plantings in the community. Acknowledging the importance of education, she served multiple terms as a trustee of Miss Porter’s School and Convent of the Greenwich Sacred Heart School.

In Hyannis Port, she turned her attention to improving the programs and activities of the long-neglected West Beach Club. Wanting it to be a welcoming and productive place for grandchildren, she was soon named president and did not rest until the club was re-made to her satisfaction, and to the lasting gratitude of all who made use of it.

Nancy was a woman of vitality and unbreakable spirit who sustained an unflagging enthusiasm for keeping up with far-flung members of her family, including seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Whenever asked how she was doing, “fine and dandy” was the ready reply. Fine and dandy, through thick and thin, was how Nancy lived her life and joyously shared it with others.

Plans for a Memorial Service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Greenwich Hospital Home Hospice Care and Greenwich Sacred Heart School.