Although she was so strong in life as to seem indestructible, Nancy Dana Palmieri passed away peacefully on April 16, 2026, at age 91, with her husband John by her side at their home in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Nancy Cooney was born in Newton, Massachusetts on August 18, 1934, arriving ahead of her twin brother, Robbie, and a few years after Freddy and Jean.  She moved to Swampscott at age ten and graduated from the town’s high school in 1952. Before marriage, she worked as a secretary and as a stewardess for United Airlines, ending up back in the Boston area when John was at MIT and they married on June 1, 1957.

Nancy and John both revered Navy – for him, it was the United States Navy he served in for more than 25 years; for her, it was the shade of blue. Nothing would provoke an exasperated sigh from her faster than the tired aphorism that “Navy wife was the toughest job in the Navy” but she worked hard all those years. While raising her four daughters – Dana, Lisa, Beth, Jennifer – she worked in and outside the home even as she graciously hosted dozens of memorable parties when John was Shipyard Commander at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the late 70’s.

When Dana died of early onset Alzheimer’s in 2017, Nancy told another daughter that while “nothing would ever be ‘normal’ again” she could still find joy. “Normal” for Nancy was joy – laughing, making birthdays and Christmas magical, playing April O’Neil to her grandson’s Leonardo, winning over every stranger as friend.

While age brings difficulties, John and Nancy laughed much in her closing years. Mutually, they set an inspiring standard for what it meant to be devoted to each other in a marriage, proving Nancy’s favorite adage: You can’t go wrong with Navy Blue.

She was preceded in death by her daughter Dana Ann Drago and is survived by her husband John, daughters Lisa Shannon (Jim), Beth Palmieri (Scott Evans), Jennifer Palmieri (Jim Lyons), grandchildren Patrick (Maura McNulty), Casey (Carey Finchem) and Caroline Shannon, John (Hailey Cowan), Rebecca (Matt Coster) and Nick Drago and three great -grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations to Cameron Chocolates and Coffee – where granddaughter Caroline is a proud employee – are welcome at https://www.every1canwork.com/donate.