Nancy Joyce Flannery

Nancy Joyce Helena Cyr – Flannery May 1, 1936 – September 8, 2020 Nancy passed away at home at the age of 84 after a 14 year struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Her good friends Michelle Genung, Tim Wong, and Terrie Lee Dymond were by her side. She was born in Caribou Maine to Lucien and Laura Dixon Cyr. Her bother Darryl was born 3 years later. Nancy described Caribou as a lovely small town nestled in the beautiful Maine woods. She spent an idyllic childhood with her family and friends, particularly her best friend, Mavis Shepherd. Summers were spent bicycling and swimming in the surrounding lakes, and in winter her favorite activity was ice skating at the local outdoor ice rink and warming up after with hot chocolate. At Christmas time she would hike into the snowy woods with her father, brother, and grandfather to select and cut a Christmas tree. She said they never cut down an entire tree, but would select a tall tree and cut the top. She recounted how she would climb a tree, saw in hand, and saw through the top of the trunk. Her family would spend the evening decorating the tree together. Her maternal grandfather visited often and Nancy developed a special bond with him. He was skilled at carpentry and he taught her much of what he knew. He was a deeply religious man and instilled in Nancy a love of Jesus and the bible. He would spend hours reading and discussing the bible with her. Nancy lived in Caribou until she married her high school sweetheart, Carroll Edward Flannery, and moved to California with him when he was stationed at Mather AFB. When Carroll left the Air Force, they remained in Carmichael CA. Their daughter Darcy was born October 24, 1960. Sadly, Nancy and Carroll were divorced after 10 years of marriage. Carroll moved out of state for his career, and Nancy remained in Carmichael and raised Darcy as a single parent. Nancy and Darcy enjoyed going to nearby Ancil Hoffman Park and swimming in the American river. At Halloween, Nancy would make Darcy’s costumes. Nancy was a multi talented person who could sew, enjoyed gardening, and was an avid photographer. She loved taking day trips to San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the ocean. She was outgoing and enjoyed visiting with friends. She had a great love of animals, and had many pets in her lifetime. Many stray and abandon animals became members of her family. When they were sick or injured she had a natural ability to care for them, and friends and neighbors would seek out her advice for their ailing pets. In 2009 her daughter Darcy was in a serious automobile accident and moved back into her mother’s home, where she remained until she died unexpectedly on December 12, 2014 at the age of 54. In addition to Darcy, Nancy was preceded in death by her father Lucien Cyr, mother Laura Cyr, brother Darryl Cyr, and ex husband Carroll Flannery. She is survived by her close friends, Michelle Genung, Ulika Lindsey, Daniel Opher, Tim Wong, and Terrie Lee Dymond. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.