#KnowForNancy

In Memory of our Mom, Nancy Mignault

#KnowforNancy

As most receiving this know, it was a year ago that our mother Nancy Mignault passed away at the age of 60. She suffered through two years of a heartbreaking battle with mental illness, most notably anxiety and depression. As a family, we’ve used that term, “passed away,” as it was just too painful and uncomfortable to converse about her departure here on earth from a battle too brutal to bear. Losing our mother has been devastating, and evoked a level of pain we had never experienced before the 13th of March, 2021.

We hope you will remember our Mom as we do, as a beautifully happy, caring, compassionate woman. It may have been connecting with her in the stands while she watched and winced during a Friday night football game. A discussion while participating in a St. Catherine’s of Sienna community event. Or just a simple hello, while picking up fruits and vegetables from the LoPresti farm stand on the side of Route 164 in Preston. Whatever the interaction was, we will bet it was met with a smile and a genuine heart.

We have learned in a very difficult way that depression and anxiety can fan the flames of endless pain. The disease leaving the afflicted with what appears to be no way out. After she died, we wanted to act. To help illuminate the suffering so many in this world sit with, sometimes in silence. But we were frozen in disbelief. The memorial services seemed surreal, almost like going through the motions, but somebody else’s motions. The only thing we had the strength to do, was to try and get through.

Twelve months have now passed, and we are ready to take the next step in this journey together, as brothers. That step includes accepting reality and understanding there will always be questions left unanswered. It also means honoring our mother, Nancy, in a way we wished we could have a year ago. Finally, and maybe most importantly, it’s about talking together, about mental health challenges. It’s about checking on family and friends and creating a safe space for struggles to be disclosed and discussed.

Our only ask of our guests to this page is for your commitment to check on your loved ones, even when everything appears "ok." Be open, inquire, listen, and support. If you suspect something is wrong, don’t pressure or push, but provide, provide a safe space and an empathetic ear. It may be hard at times to be on the receiving end of a frustrating or negative conversation. STAY IN IT. They need you. If you feel professional intervention is required, seek that assistance quickly. Please, take the time to talk to your loved ones. Mental health matters, and we ask you to #KnowforNancy

Our Mom, Nancy, was born in Norwich, CT, but grew up in Preston, and lived there her entire adult life. She raised us there. Our hometown meant the world to her, and the sounds and seasons of this quiet corner of Connecticut always brought her immense joy. From peep frogs to fall foilage, Preston forever had her heart. Some of our fondest childhood memories together took place at Amos Lake, right down the road from our home on Bunny Road. Amos Lake provided us a place each spring and summer to be free. It was her place though, as well, a place where she could enjoy a picnic with family and friends, a place where she was able to leave the stress of the day behind, and enjoy nature. She would often tell us how important it was to get outside, to be in the fresh air, that this special place………in comparison to our Nintendo games, was the real world, the world as God intended it to be. When we each left for college, and again when we each relocated from Preston for professional pursuits, we would often receive cards in the mail from Mom, with photographs of the lake with the words, “No matter where you go, or what you do, never forget where you come from.”

Well, we never have, and that "real world" of Amos Lake which gave our family so much, we now want to assist them in some of their needs. For a place that meant so much to Nancy Mignault, we are hoping to find a way to give back, in her memory. We respectfully ask that your only commitment truly be the beforementioned conversation with your loved ones. We mean that wholeheartedly. Should you decide that a donation be desirable, however, we would be enormously grateful, and the money raised will be donated to the restoration of the lake, the beach club, and the campground, to ensure families today and tomorrow get to share in the beautiful memories we did with our Mom. The Woodmansee family of Preston, CT, that maintains ownership of the Amos Lake Beach Club and Campground, has offered and is honored to create a garden, with a bench, overlooking the water, in our mother’s memory. It would be a quiet, beautiful spot for people to sit, rest, think, pray, but most importantly, a perfect place to talk with someone you care about. A spot to question, to care, or console someone who is in need of love and support #KnowforNancy

With the utmost sincerity, we thank you for visiting our page, and considering the future conversation with family and friends around mental health. We consider ourselves blessed to have had the time we did with our Mom, Nancy. She lived an exceptional, purposeful life, touching so many people along the way. Although her departure from this life still can feel devastating, we know her faithful conviction and passionate pursuits can continue on, in us. She would want the work of giving back and helping others to continue. Most importantly, she would want all of us to be there to love one another, and sometimes that can start with a very simple, “How are you?”

So together, we ask, will you join us, and #KnowforNancy?

B.K. Mignault, Patrick Mignault, Marc Mignault