Obituary of Emily Nakos

Emily (Astyk) Nakos, 97, of East Hartford, died on February 11, 2014 and will be dearly missed by her family. A generous and loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother, she was born on February 8, 1917 in Russellton, PA to John and Victoria (Wasco) Astyk. She attended elementary school in Western Pennsylvania and high school at St. Ann's Academy in Wilkes-Barre, PA, graduating in 1934. After high school, Emily set off for New York City where she studied at Bushwick Hospital School of Nursing in Brooklyn, NY with affiliations at Bellevue Hospital in New York City and King's Park Psychiatric Hospital on Long Island. She met James Nakos in New York City, and they married on November 23, 1940 at St. Patrick's Cathedral. After James and Emily moved to East Hartford, she raised four children and worked as an operating room nurse, a school nurse, and a camp nurse for the Girl Scouts. For many years she was a medical-surgical instructor at St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing. A model of determination and perseverance, she earned a BS cum laude from UCONN School of Nursing in 1970. Emily lived in East Hartford for 61 years and was a member of St. Christopher's Parish. She was an avid flower and vegetable gardener, an adventurous cook and a voracious reader. She also enjoyed playing golf as well as bowling with the "Primetimers." Emily is predeceased by her husband James and brothers Edmund Astyk and John Astyk. She leaves her children Janet Levengood and husband John, Laura Hansen and husband Frederick Steven Nakos and wife Grace, James E. Nakos and wife Donnamarie, grandchildren Julie Levengood and husband Noel Swartz, Jared Levengood, Jessica Levengood Bernstein and husband Alex, Jonah Hansen and wife Jessica Brach, Alina Nakos, Christopher Nakos and wife Kelley, Andrea Gervasini and husband Mike, three great grandchildren Max Bernstein, Anna Hansen, and Sophie Hansen and nephews James T. Nakos, John Nakos, Peter Nakos, and Robert Astyk. Emily lived her life with compassion for others and curiosity about the world around her. Always a learner herself, she taught her friends and family so much, and they carry her lessons and stories with them as treasured memories of her full and long life. Calling hours will be Sunday, February 16, 2014 from 3 to 6 at Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury, CT. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, 285 Church Street, Hartford, CT on Monday, February 17 at 10:00 a.m. Thanks go to the Salmon Brook Care Center for their special care and to Emily's long time aides for their vigilance, care, and affection. Donations in Emily's name may be made to the UCONN School of Nursing.