Nancy Josephine Greco Dickson

Nancy was born in Tampa on February 4, 1934 to Annie Belle Bostick and Giuseppe “Joe” Greco. Her mother Annie hailed from rural Georgia and embodied a fiery blend of grit, work ethic, and raucous humor. Her father Joe, one of the founders of Tampa Wholesale Company and Kash n’ Karry grocery stores, was born in Santo Stefano, Sicily and personified compassion, strength, and grace in the face of tribulation. Nancy was deeply proud of both her southern roots and her Italian heritage and had an awareness that the two threads combined to give her a unique perspective on community and life.

A child of the Depression, Nancy learned at an early age important life lessons of resilience and self-sufficiency. As a young girl, she tended gardens on the family farm, fed livestock, mended clothing, and helped make dinner with whatever was on hand that day. These early experiences profoundly shaped her, and her love of digging in the dirt, making beautiful meals, and concern for others carried through her entire life. It was important to Nancy that nothing that could be salvaged or repurposed was wasted. This was especially true of wrapping paper (much to her children’s dismay and bewilderment) which could be trimmed free of tape, ironed, and stored away for reuse.

The 1952 Salutatorian of Jefferson High School, Nancy moved to North Carolina to attend Mars Hill College, but returned to Tampa after one year because she had fallen madly in love with a local guy named Larry Dickson. They married in 1954 and Nancy completed her degree in education at The University of Tampa. Upon graduation, she taught fifth graders at Stephen Foster Elementary School in Seminole Heights before retiring to nurture and care for her own growing family.

Over the course of their happy 66-year marriage, Nancy and Larry made a formidable team. Together they tackled many complicated projects including the design and construction of their beautiful New England summer house on the coast of Stonington, CT. Their shared interest in early American furniture and folk art took them to museums, galleries, and auction houses throughout the country, but it was their abiding love for the city of their births that kept them firmly rooted in Tampa.

Nancy maintained a profound curiosity for learning to her very last days, reading books on a myriad of topics every week. She was a woman of deep and abiding faith—a faith that gave her strength and sustained her during her most challenging days. Her family is grateful for the support of her large extended Italian and southern family, and for each and every one of her wonderful friends. Our heartfelt thanks that you have cared about her so completely, and that you have shared your lives with her and with our family.

Nancy is survived by her two children, Mark Dickson (Karen) of Tampa, FL, Carol Dickson Jahnke (Nicholas) of Middleburg, VA and Tampa, FL; four grandchildren, Kristi Cowling (Slade), Kevin Dickson, MD, Madeleine Jahnke and Nicholas Jahnke; and three great-grandchildren, Harper, Gavin, and Sienna Cowling.

Should friends desire, contributions in Nancy’s name may be sent to The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, P.O. Box 24041, New York, NY 10087 or www.curemeso.org