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A Few Clouds Remembering ‘Aunt Nan’
Nanette Jimenez, of Lynbrook, was all about fun, helping others
Her childlike enthusiasm and willingness to help others is what Joe Delia remembers most of his late Aunt Nanette Jimenez.
According to Delia, her high energy and positivity remained right up until she died Jan. 25 of ovarian cancer.
Jimenez’s mother passed down a playful personality to her, which Delia called a “mischievous spirit.”
Born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1958, Jimenez was given the middle name St. Pat.
“Her mischievous spirit was right there from the beginning,” Delia said. Jimenez, Delia, and the rest of the family grew up in Rosedale, Queens, and later moved to Lynbrook.
“Aunt Nan moved with my uncle Julio on Walnut Street about five or six years after I moved to Lynbrook,” Delia said. Memories were created on that street through many family events. Delia has vivid memories of Jimenez’s lively personality. One event that stands out was a New Year’s Eve karaoke party.
“That’s where Nan really shined,” Delia said. “I have great memories of her performances at those New Year’s Eve parties.”
Delia’s home on Earle Avenue is where her childlike enthusiasm shone through. “My home in Lynbrook has a huge backyard, so we’ve had countless parties here,” Delia said. “And we would get those big inflatable slip-and-slides and Nan would be right next to a kid going down the slide.”
Donna Delia, Nanette’s sister and Joe Delia’s mother, recalls her siblings as “four little girls from Rosedale.”
“As little girls we would set up our living room as a stage,” Donna Delia said. “We would take turns singing and dancing on our marble coffee table with a hairbrush as our microphone. Guess who was the star of the show?”
Jimenez’ “fun-loving” spirit started as far back as Donna Delia can remember and continued throughout her cancer treatment.
“On the week of Christmas, we thought Nan wasn’t going to make it,” Joe Delia said. “She had a really bad infection that looked like it was going to take her down, but she beat the infection, walked out of Mount Sinai hospital the day before Christmas Eve, and walked into my home on Christmas morning to open gifts.”
Joe Delia was shocked by his aunt’s tenacity throughout her sickness as she went back for chemotherapy treatment immediately after Christmas.
Throughout her treatment, Joe Delia took note of how her husband, Julio Jimenez, was always there for her.
“My uncle Julio was by her side for every doctor and hospital visit,” Joe Delia said. “He’s just as amazing as she was.”
Jimenez had another infection and according to Joe Delia, “her body was too weak to keep going.”
It was hard for Joe Delia and his family to watch Jimenez suffer through her illness, but despite everything, he feels fortunate that she had an “amazing” staff at Mount Sinai.
Before she died, Nanette and Julio Jimenez adopted five dogs. “She always stressed the importance of adopting and not buying from a shop,” Joe Delia said. Along with adopting dogs, Nanette Jimenez donated money to charities.
“I would fundraise constantly on Facebook and Nan was the first to donate to these foundations,” Joe Delia said. The charities Jimenez supported included Gay Men’s Health Crisis Center, the Sloan Kettering Cycling fundraiser, Kidcare, Feeding America Organization, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, and the American Cancer Society.
To represent Jimenez and her “glitz and glamorous” wardrobe, Delia and his family is hosting a fundraiser for the Look Good Feel Better foundation in Jimenez’s name. This foundation was chosen because Jimenez didn’t feel comfortable with wearing wigs during her treatments and the foundation is dedicated to improving the self-esteem of those going through cancer treatment.
Along with the Look Good Feel Better foundation, Jimenez’s family is raising money for the Humane Society in honor of her love for animals.
Jimenez impacted the lives of so many people, and it was evident by the attendance at her funeral.
“We had the entire Perry Funeral Home,” Joe Delia said. “We had their two big rooms filled and people had to park blocks and blocks away.” To honor his aunt, Joe Delia vows to continue her kind-heartedness and compassion for others.
