Nancy threw her first party the day she turned six. When she realized there was no birthday party planned for her upcoming birthday, unbeknownst to her mother, she made her own invitations and handed them out at school. On the afternoon of her birthday, the front doorbell rang and Nancy’s mother opened the door to a parade of kids toting their presents. A neighbor was hastily dispatched to the bakery for a cake and the festivities began. And for the next 50 plus years they rarely stopped.

Nancy died on the 4th of July. We who knew and loved her swear she picked that day and even if she didn’t, it was the most fitting. She was a firecracker — all energy and brightness lighting up the lives of those around her. Even at its worse, her illness couldn’t extinguish that spirit — her humor, that spark of mischief, the stubbornness.

She was a gifted athlete — basketball, softball, volleyball, gymnastics. She would do back flips up the steep driveway as a teen and was still performing flips into her 50s. At weddings and parties, a chant would start up, flip...flip...flip, a space would clear, and Nancy would flip her way across the dance floor, formal gown be damned. Basketball was her real game, earning her a full scholarship to college. Years later, at nine months pregnant, she attended a niece’s basketball game and decided to shoot a few hoops after the game. Those heading out stopped in their tracks, awed by the sight of this full-bellied mother doing basketball moves few could do at the height of their fitness — and making every shot.

Her friends will tell you that her competitiveness was legendary. Whether it be the board games she loved or the traditional ping pong tournaments — Nancy was determined to win, and she usually did.

Nancy was a teller at a local bank when she and her husband Marty met. The day Marty found himself at her window, he was smitten. Nancy would leave work to find little love notes tucked under her windshield wipers. They were married on July 28, 1990 and for 32 years they loved each other. They would tease and bicker good-humoredly and Marty would often be shaking his head at Nancy’s escapades; (“Where did all these flamingos come from?” Asked the morning after a particularly interesting pub crawl). But the pride and joy he had for her was clear to everyone. Every year, without fail, he planned something special for their anniversary.

They moved to Maine in 2003 where Nancy created a life full of friendship, fun, and family. Everyone knew Nancy — Marty called her the Mayor of Bridgton. She reached out to new neighbors and welcomed them into the community and her ever-expanding circle of friends. Summers were spent at the community beach, where families would gather and the kids would swim and play. Her kids say they always had the best snacks at the beach, all the other kids jealous of the giant bag of goodies their mom brought along. Other parents say it was Nancy who kept all the kids fed those beach days, running back up the hill to her house and returning with a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches balanced precariously on a paper plate. She opened Nancy’s Pub in 2017 and, forget the good food and brew; everyone went there because of Nancy — to spend time in the company of her laughter.

The most important thing in Nancy’s life was her family. She was happiest when they were all together — Marty and her three beautiful daughters and their partners, Jess and Jeremy, Jenn and Evan, and Jacqueline and Mauricio. She kept every card and memento her daughters ever gave her, refusing to throw away a single memory. She was at every cheer meet, every ball game, every school event. She missed only one game in all those years, the day of her surgery for breast cancer back in 2014. The first words when she came out of the anesthesia — how did Jacqueline do in the game? The next week, against the protests of her family, she put the pain aside, tucked her drain tubes into the pockets of her sweatpants, and was back on the sidelines cheering for her Jacqueline. She taught Jess to drive, patiently walking her through it. Jess remembers those weekends of driving lessons as some of her best times, spending hours, just her and her mom, talking about everything. Jenn remembers Nancy warning her that she was in trouble because they were exactly alike. And later, always saying she was her best friend. In the last months, one of Nancy’s happiest moments was being able to dance with her Jenn at her wedding. Each of the girls will tell you, she was the best mom ever.

Nancy, you will be so missed. The world is a quieter place, the laughter subdued without you. From your girls:

Clouds Moon Stars.
I love you to the moon and back.
Good night you look beautiful and pretty.
Nancy Claire Laurent was born on September 24, 1961, the daughter of Charles Roush and Dorothy Roush. She graduated from Walter Panas High School in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., in 1979.

She is survived by her husband, Martin Laurent, and her daughters: Jessica Laurent and her partner, Jeremy Milair, Jennifer Thurlow and her husband, Evan Thurlow, and Jacqueline Laurent and her partner, Mauricio Acevedo. She is also survived by four sisters, Kathleen Schmitt, Karen Roush, Susan Novak, and Ellen Roush, and one brother, Michael Roush.

She is predeceased by her parents, and a sister, Eileen Roush.

The family asks that donations in Nancy’s memory be made to American Cancer Society, 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Ste. 300, Topsham, ME 04086.

To share memories and condolences with the family please go to www.chandlerfunerals.com. Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 45 Main Street, South Paris.