Obituary: Nancy Keck Smith, 93, Of Stamford And Formerly Of Greenwich

Obituary courtesy of Fred D. Knapp Funeral Home

Nancy Keck Smith of Stamford, CT and long-time resident of Greenwich, CT passed peacefully at Stamford Hospital surrounded by loving family on March 2, 2024, at age 93. Born in Hempstead, Long Island, NY in 1930, she was the third child of Marjorie Brown Keck and Ernst Madison Keck.

She was raised in Williston Park, Long Island and Pittsford, Vermont before attending Northfield School for Girls and graduating from Smith College in 1953. She majored in Italian Literature and Art History and thoroughly enjoyed her junior year abroad in Florence, Italy when she traveled extensively throughout Europe. She was honored to be Chairman of her 25th Reunion at Smith in 1978.

Upon graduating, she worked as an Assistant Buyer at Bloomingdales in New York City where she met and married Dr. James W. Smith. They had a long, happy marriage of 53 years until his death in 2006.

They lived in New York City until 1969 when they moved to Old Greenwich, CT, subsequently moving to the Belle Haven area of Greenwich in 1974. In 2014, Nancy moved to EdgeHill in Stamford, CT where she resided for the rest of her life.

Nancy and Jim Smith purchased The Homestead Inn in 1979 with another Greenwich couple, Charlie and Lessie Davidson. Nancy and Lessie were innkeepers and restauranteurs for nearly 20 years, and under their ownership and management, The Homestead was completely refurbished and restored to a traditional New England décor by John Saladino. They introduced French Nouvelle Cuisine with Jacques Thiebault, formerly the sous chef at La Cirque in New York City. The restaurant obtained three stars from the New York Times for the cuisine and the inn was included in many guide books, including Country Inns And Back Roads. Nancy and Lessie also recorded a commercial for American Express as part of the credit card company’s 'Do You Know Me?' ad campaign.

Nancy was gracious and generous. She enjoyed hosting and attending any social event. Always the life of the party, she was comfortable with anyone and everyone. She had ten very happy years living and participating in many activities at EdgeHill. She particularly enjoyed meals with her friends, aqua-aerobics, the piano performances, the many varied lectures and talks (opera, politics, world events) and any performances or visits by children.

As successful as she was at The Homestead, Nancy always said her proudest achievement was raising a family of five children. In addition, she was a loving grandmother to twelve grandchildren. She is survived by her daughter Lucinda (Richard) Hay and their children Jasmine (Eric) Andersen, Vivienne Hay and Russell Hay; Judith (Zeke) Fairbank and their children Taylor, Nathaniel and Nancy Fairbank; James (Julie) and their children James (Mary Alex), Andrew and Brett; Constance (Hollis) Plimpton and their children Hollis and Christopher Plimpton and Peter (Nicole) and their child Evan and many other loving family and friends.

Arrangements are being handled by Fred D. Knapp Funeral Home of Greenwich, CT. Please send any condolences to: The Smith Family, 1621 Notre Dame Drive, Mountain View, CA 94040 or online through Fred D. Knapp, www.greenwichfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to The First Presbyterian Church, 1 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830.