Nancy Joyce Osborne Grattan of Mattituck died on August 5, 2017. She was 79 and went by the name Joyce.
The daughter of James V. and Annette McMahon Osborne, she was born on October 27, 1937, and spent her entire youth in her beloved Southampton. A 1955 graduate of Southampton High School, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Wells College, where she competed in basketball and tennis, and a master’s degree from Hofstra University. In 1960, she married George F. Grattan of Southold and launched a five-decade career in education.
Shortly after settling in Mattituck in 1970, she joined her husband in the English department at Mattituck High School. For 26 years, she taught, counseled, cajoled, and inspired many hundreds of students. She earned her reputation as a local legend. But regardless of her many public accomplishments and accolades, what mattered most was her impact, survivors said. Scores of her students have testified to the love she showed them and how it changed their lives. Sometimes that meant pushing them hard to reach the potential she saw in them. Sometimes it meant offering affirmation. She retired to her own college counseling business in 1999, where she continued to be a mentor and painstakingly customized college counseling for hundreds of students and their families. Her legacy is best summed up by Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” She made her students feel loved.
In declining health during the last two years, she gratefully received back the spirit, care, and assistance she gave to so many during her life. Visits, calls, and letters—from former students, colleagues, neighbors, friends, and friends who are like family—sustained and comforted her in difficult days. A noteworthy contributor to this small town for decades, Mrs. Grattan never stopped savoring the natural beauty of her home or caring deeply about the people and life of her community.
She is survived by her children and their families, Leslie and husband Jack and their children, Kara, Daniel and Meghan Donahue of Connecticut; Lisa and her children Bobby, Maggie, Patrick and Bridget Moriarty of New Jersey; and George and wife Mary Benard of Massachusetts. She is survived by a sister, Gail Tiska-Flurry of New Suffolk and many nieces and nephews on both the Osborne and Grattan sides, as well as scores of special people, young and old, who enriched her life in so many ways.
She was predeceased by her husband, George F. Grattan, a brother, John B. Osborne and his son, nephew James J. Osborne.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck with a funeral planned for Tuesday, August 8, at Our Lady of Good Counsel and burial at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Southold.
Memorial donations may be made to the Mattituck-Cutchogue Teacher’s Association scholarship fund, the Peconic Bay Medical Center Palliative Care Program, or an organization of choice that reflects one of the many passions and causes dear to Mrs. Grattan. Donations to the scholarship fund can be made payable to MCTA and sent c/o Dennis Deerkoski, Mattituck High School, 15125 Main Rd., Mattituck, NY 11952. Donations to the palliative care program may be made online at pbmcfoundation.thankyou4caring.org.
Condolences for the family can be posted at defriestgrattan.com/condolences.
on Aug 7, 2017