Nancy Neal Desalvo

Nancy Neal DeSalvo, 90, of Vero Beach, FL, passed away August 13, 2017. She was the wife of the late Bennie DeSalvo, who she met while attending Middlebury College. Born in Walton, New York, she was one of four children of the late William T. and Marguerite (Emmett) Neal. She earned a MLS at Simmons College. A gifted storyteller who championed the importance of books in early childhood development, she served as Coordinator of Children Services in the Farmington Public Library system for 30 years and wrote a book on library programming for preschoolers. Highlights of her distinguished career include a Librarian of the Year award from the Connecticut Library Association, serving on the selection committees for the Newberry and Caldecott national book awards, and a “TV Turnoff campaign” in 1984 which garnered international attention and a phone call from talk show host David Letterman. Nancy was more than a match for Letterman’s wit prompting a second call and humorous bribes to get her to ‘call in off’, but Nancy could not be bought and let David know it was ‘bigger than the both of them’. Nancy lived in Simsbury, CT for over 50 years, raising six children with Bennie. She moved to Peace Dale, RI in 2005 and cared for her husband there until his passing in 2010. She spent her final years in Vero Beach in the loving presence of her youngest daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Her most cherished activities-reunions, sing-a-longs, Easter Egg hunts, beach vacations, and annual Christmas shows—always involved family. She is survived by sister-in-law Rosalie Pironto; son Bill and daughter-in-law Jodie, son Bart, son Chris, son Andy and daughter-in-law Cindy, daughter Missy Berg and son-in-law- John Berg, daughter Sally Sullivan and son-in-law Jim Sullivan; grandchildren Frank, Bennie, Ciro, Debbie, Carl, Nick, Julia, and Caz. They will miss “Grammy’s” generosity of spirit, unflagging moral support, and infectious laugh, but rejoice in her finding peace and reuniting with Ben. A celebration of her life will be held at 10 am Tuesday, August 29th in the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield, RI. Burial will follow in the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter.