GREENFIELD — A local family is mourning the loss of a beloved family member even as it’s reassuring friends that another family member with the same name is alive and well.
Nancy Alldredge, a longtime leader of the Riley Festival, is doing just fine.
Many in the community were worried she had unexpectedly died, after news spread that her sister-in-law, also named Nancy Alldredge, died on May 5.
The two women married brothers — Paul and Glenn Alldredge — and are just five years apart in age. They also lived two blocks from each other on the same street in Greenfield.
“It’s no wonder people were confused,” said the Riley Festival’s Nancy Alldredge, who was touched so many people had reached out to her after her sister-in-law’s death notice appeared in the Daily Reporter and online.
Her daughter, Anita Turner, said her phone has been blowing up with people shocked that her mother, who is in good health, had supposedly died.
“I’ve been getting a lot of calls and text messages. My mom has been getting calls. We want to assure everyone that she’s doing just fine,” said Turner, who happily got to spend Mother’s Day with her mom.
Still, the family mourns the loss of Turner’s aunt, who spent her entire life in Greenfield, where she raised three sons. Her husband, Glenn, preceded her in death three years ago.
The couple were active members at Faith United Methodist Church in Greenfield.
It was Turner’s mom who primarily checked in on the late Nancy Alldredge several times a day since she underwent surgery in March. It was Alldredge who discovered her sister-in-law had died when she checked in on her Wednesday morning.
“She was a very sweet lady, and near and dear to our hearts,” Turner said of her aunt. “She loved her family, and just lived a very happy, contented life.”
Turner’s mom has been surprised by the outpouring of support that’s come from the community when people mistakenly thought it was her who had died.
“I had let the people at my church know, but apparently a lot of other people were checking to see if it was me,” she said.
The number of calls and emails checking on her well-being took Alldredge by surprise.
“I had no idea that people would remember me,” said Alldredge, whose 25-plus years of helping lead the Riley Festival have made her a prominent figure in the community.
“I just want everyone to know I’m alive and well,” she said
Her sister-in-law’s funeral will take place at 1 p.m. Thursday, at Erlewein Mortuary in Greenfield, with viewing from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday.
