Nancy Jean (Giovanni) Salah

Nancy Jean (Giovanni) Salah was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend, and a pillar of the local Catholic community. She left this world for her eternal home on Sunday June 18, 2023 at the age of 76, due to complications from a stroke. She was at home, surrounded by her family. 

She was born in Stoneham on September 2, 1946, the first anniversary of the end of World War II, as the youngest of three children of Martin and Charlotte (Lilly) Giovanni. She graduated from Melrose High School in 1964, and then Salem State in 1968. Her subsequent cross-country road trip and summer working in Hawaii produced many favorite family stories. She soon met her husband, Joe, on a ski trip. They were married in 1970, the summer after they met, and over the next decade welcomed three children, Ellen, Matthew and Christiana. Both Nancy and Joe completed Master's degrees in Education in 1972. They settled in Ipswich in 1980, where she lived and served until her death.

Nancy was both a life-long learner and educator, first teaching in schools and later serving as the director of religious education at Our Lady of Hope parish in Ipswich from 1988 through 2017. She went back to school for a second Masters, this time in Ministry, in 2003 from St John's Seminary in Chestnut Hill. Her joy in teaching, combined with her unrivaled patience, will be long remembered by all who knew her, most especially her children and grandchildren, with whom she was always taking opportunities to share new things she had learned. She was a great reader and fan of costume dramas, and with her sister, she traveled the world, visiting countries as far flung as Brazil, Ethiopia, Croatia, China, Israel and Mexico. 

Nancy was a tireless, behind-the-scenes worker who spent her life serving others, and teaching her family and loved ones to do the same. She lived out her life as an example of Christ's love, quietly helping wherever she saw someone in need, and was a soft-spoken evangelist. Two of her great loves were her local parish, where she not only worked but volunteered extensively in too many roles to name, and the CAMPS ministry, a Christian youth camp, for which she volunteered for over 20 years. She loved to talk to people, especially children, about her faith, to serve others, and to work in her garden.

She is survived by her loving husband of almost 53 years, Joseph; brother Mack "Micky" Giovanni, sister Sally (Giovanni) Anderson, and their families; her children Ellen (Salah) Maher and husband John, Matthew Salah and wife Sharon, Christiana Meagher Salah and husband Ben; and her 9 grandchildren--Bethany, Joseph, Ian, Anna, Rebekah, Bridget, Rose, Zoë, and Verity--who brightened her life right up to her last days. 

A visitation will be held Friday, June 23, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Morris Funeral Home, 45 N Main St #2235, Ipswich, MA 01938. A funeral mass will be held on Saturday at 11:00am at Our Lady of Hope, 54 Linebrook  Rd, Ipswich, MA 01938.  In lieu of flowers, please donate in her name to one of her two passions, Our Lady of Hope  1 Pineswamp Rd.,Ipswich, MA  01938  or  the CAMPS Dave Orvosh Scholarship Fund.  c/o  Steve Poulin  4 Sleighride Lane  Littleton, MA  01460.  To send a letter of condolence to the Salah family please go to:  MorrisFH.com .

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Nancy Jean (Giovanni) Salah, please visit our floral store.