NAPLES — Nancy (Paynter) Surette, 82, passed away peacefully with her family in her home in Naples on Monday, July 12, 2021, after a courageous yet brief battle with cancer.

Nancy was raised in Saugus, Mass., where she graduated high school. She and husband Jim met while working at Lawson Machine & Tool in Malden. They moved to North Reading after they were married, where Nancy was a full-time mother while caring for her own ailing parents. She later worked for various companies, providing administrative and office management support. She enjoyed gardening and going to the beach and was an active member and past president of the North Reading Garden Club.

Once Nancy and Jim retired, they enjoyed summers at their home on Long Lake in Naples for 30 years, and spent winters in Inverness, Fla. While in Naples, she spent hours tending to her vegetable and flower gardens and enjoying time on the lake with family and friends. She was an active member of the Songo Garden Club in Naples. While in Inverness, she was an avid walker, spent time with friends playing dominoes and cards, visiting other friends in Florida, and hosting her family’s vacations.

Nancy is survived by her husband, Jim, who she shared 55 years of marriage; daughter, Laura McNally of North Andover, Mass.; daughter, Sharon Hansen of Middleton, Mass.; five grandchildren; as well as many sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and other family members. 

She is predeceased by her parents, Harold and Myrtle (Profitt) Paynter; and brother, Eddie Paynter.

A memorial service will be held at the Union Congregational Church in North Reading, Mass. on Tuesday, July 27 at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice or the American Cancer Society.