Obituary of Nancy Williams Chenet

Nancy Williams Chenet died peacefully on 14 March 2022 at home in Melbourne at the age of 89 with two living sons, Ronald and Cedric by her side.  

Nancy was born in San Francisco, California on 2 June 1932 and spent her formative years in Carmel and Santa Barbara. On a trip to Haiti in 1951, she met a handsome gentleman, Rony Chenet Jr, who would become her husband of 66 years. She lived most of her adult life in Port-Au Prince, Haiti raising her 3 songs, Ronald, Cedric, and Burton through the turbulent political climate of Haiti in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. She went into business and managed a beautiful gift store, Ambiance, which she made the “go to store” for local arts and crafts and imported gifts from around the world. Nancy's passion in her later years was to travel, and this passion took her all over the globe. She was disappointed that the only continent she had not visited was Antarctica. After the 2010 Earthquake destroyed her home in Port-Au-Prince, she moved with Rony to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she remained until Rony’s death in the fall of 2018. To be closer to family, she moved to Florida in 2018 and lived with her son Cedric and his family in Melbourne until her passing.  

Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Burton Williams and Helen Williams nee Holman, her husband Rony and her youngest son Burton. She is survived by her sons Ronald (Natasha) and Cedric (Katia) and 8 grandchildren, Romy, Derek, Zachary, Jonathan, Nikolai, Iris, Jasmine, and Amy.  

A memorial service and celebration of life will be held in Melbourne in July.