NORTHAMPTON — Since 1979, Nancy Foley has gone to work in the courts at 15 Gothic St.
“I know every inch of that building,” said Foley, 61, of Northampton,
On Friday, Foley, the first assistant clerk of Hampshire Superior Court, had her last day of work.
“I was just ready,” said Foley, on why she chose to retire. “Thirty-nine years is a long time.”
Foley said she initially applied to work in the courts at the suggestion of a neighbor, because she was told there were good jobs with good benefits there.
“That’s exactly why I applied,” she said. “I was looking for a good career and I guess I found it.”
Foley spent the first four years of her career at 15 Gothic St. in Northampton District Court, before moving to superior court. She became first assistant clerk in 1995. Her replacement, Melissa Doran, will begin the job on Jan. 14. Doran is currently an assistant district attorney working in Hampden Superior Court.
In recent years, a rule change has required first assistant clerks to have a law degree, which prevented anyone from being promoted to Foley’s job from with in
On what she’s going to miss the most about the job, Foley cited dealing with the public and her co-workers.
“I’ll continue to be their friends,” she said. “But you don’t see everyone on a day-to-day basis.”
Following her last day, a party was held for Foley at the Hotel Northampton that evening, which drew a big crowd.
“I was overwhelmed,” said Foley.
She also said that she didn’t regard herself as having been someone important.
“I went in every day. Just did the best I could,” said Foley.
Foley’s modest characterization of herself was contested by her colleagues.
“She was a very humble, self-deprecating person in that regard,” said Hampshire Superior Court Clerk Harry Jekanowski Jr.
“She was great at her job, she was wonderful with people” said Megan Grygorcewicz, who has spent her entire 23-year career working alongside Foley.
Jekanowski has himself worked in Hampshire Superior Court since 1983, and he noted the institutional knowledge Foley left with.
“In this business, and I’m doing it still, you learn something every day,” he said. “When you walk out the door you take that knowledge and experience with you.”
He also noted the closeness of the partnership he had with Foley.
“We really worked well together as a team,” he said. “We had a good balance.”
Jekanowski also said that Foley “could do everything.”
Foley also won two awards for her service, an Employee Excellence Award from the trial court in 2005 and a Contribution to Justice Award from the Hampshire County Bar Association in 2009.
Asked about a single favorite moment, Foley said that there were just too many. But in terms of what she liked least about the job, she said it was seeing people who’d been less fortunate than her come before the court.
Foley’s late husband, who died in 2013, also worked at 15 Gothic St. as the chief probation officer of the Northampton District Court, although they first met at St. Michael’s High School and not on the job. However, they kept their work lives separate, getting to work different ways and not having lunch together.
Nevertheless Foley noted, “If I needed him for something, he was there.”
Foley has a son, Kevin, who lives in New York City and a grandson, Cole, who is 1, through him. She also has a daughter Jill, who lives in Boston. She said that she plans on seeing more of her children and grandson now that she’s retired.
An avid gardener, Foley plans on enjoying that hobby as a retiree.
“In the spring I am looking forward to getting out in my yard,” she said.
She also said that she plans on doing a lot of traveling, beginning with a cruise to the western Caribbean she will be leaving for Friday.
“There’s a big world out there,” said Foley.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.