Nunziata 'Nancy' Runci

Nunziata "Nancy" Runci, age 77, of Bel Air, MD, died on April 30, 2009 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Born in Forza d' Agro, Italy, she was the daughter of the late Filippo Nicolosi and Giuseppa Trimarchi Nicolosi. She had a beautiful voice and sang in the church choir, where she met her husband, Dr. Giovanni Runci, DVM, in 1959. They were married on October 30, 1960 in Italy in the Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata, the church where scenes from the movie "The Godfather" were filmed and where Dr. Runci's brother, Monsignor Giuseppi Runci, the parish priest, officiated. In attendance at their wedding were seven Roman Catholic priests. Following their nuptuals, the couple was honored to receive a congratulatory telegram from Pope John XXIII. They immigrated to the United States on August 23, 1961. Upon the retirement of Dr. Runci, they spent half their time in Bel Air, MD and the the other half in Sicily, near Taormina where they built a villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. A devoted wife and mother, she enjoyed working with ceramics and was a great cook and fashion designer, hand making many beautiful outfits for her family and friends including wedding gowns for both her daughters, that she patiently hand-beaded. She designed and sewed her first wedding gown at the age of 16. Around the house, she loved to sing opera, flower gardening and vegetable gardening, from which she canned her own sauces. She cared for her Aunt Rosa DiCara, her Aunt Carmela Puglisi, and when her father became ill, she returned to Italy for one year to care for him. She also cared for all her grandchildren.

Mrs. Runci is survived by her husband, Dr. Giovanni Runci, DVM of Bel Air, MD; daughters, Carmela Rosetta Runci of Abingdon, MD and Nancy Brletich and her husband, Richard, of Forest Hill, MD; and four grandchildren, Gabriella Christina Howard, William Alfred Howard V, Richard Thomas Brletich II, and John Joseph Brletich. In addition, she has many nieces, nephews and cousins in Italy.