Nancy Keeley | Business owner, 80

Nancy Keeley, 80, of Flourtown, a retired real estate agency owner, died of heart failure last Tuesday at Sunrise Assisted Living in Lafayette Hill.

Miss Keeley grew up in Wyndmoor with seven older siblings.

After graduating from Mount St. Joseph Academy, she worked as a secretary for an insurance agency in Philadelphia. At 26, she was an actuary with the company, said her niece Ann Dougherty.

In the early 1960s, Miss Keeley earned a real estate license and joined Marple Clemens Realtors in Maple Glen.

When she started, she introduced herself to every homeowner in the area, her niece said.

She had incredible integrity and a great sense of humor, and made friends with clients of all ages, Dougherty said.

In 1985, Miss Keeley established Nancy Keeley Realtors in Flourtown.

She realized that real estate offered opportunities for women to own and manage a successful business, her niece said.

For years, she resisted overtures from national real estate chains to buy her out, Dougherty said.

Instead, in 2005, she sold to Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, which is co-owned by a woman. She sold homes for Elfant until last spring and enjoyed mentoring young agents, her niece said.

Miss Keeley was nicknamed "Mayor of Flourtown" because she knew everyone, Dougherty said.

Miss Keeley is survived by a brother, George, and was the family matriarch to 19 nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. today at St. Genevieve Roman Catholic Church, 1225 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown, where Miss Keeley was a eucharistic minister.

Friends may call from 9 a.m.

Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.