BELFAST — Nancy Mattila, born July 2, 1940, in Ely, Minnesota, peacefully passed away at the age of 83 on November 24, 2023. She was at home in Belfast with her family – her daughter Jenae Pash, her son George Pash, and her husband and partner of 30 years, Dick Swain.

Nan was proud of her heritage. All four of her grandparents were from Finland, and her Mother’s mother and father were Sámi – the indigenous people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia.

Nan graduated from Alhambra High School in California, earned an AA Degrees from East Los Angeles College, a BS in Music from Northeastern, trained as a Polarity Therapist, and a meditation teacher. She was a Reiki Master and had been ordained by Thich Nhat Hahn into the Order of Interbeing. She had been a member of the Touring Artist Program of the Maine Arts Commission, and she worked as a teacher, a therapist, a professional photographer, and a musician. She sang with Jan Harmon, Bill Bonyun, Gordon Bok, Nick Apollonio, Dick Swain, the Quasimodal Chorus, and the Midcoast Community Chorus among others.

The chronology of her life and the list of her accomplishments cannot begin to touch the power of her presence in the world. Her wise and loving consciousness was much needed and will be sorely missed.

A memorial service will be held sometime in spring or summer 2024.