By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mrs. DiMuzio

Nancy P. DiMuzio never failed to astound her seven children with her seemingly endless knowledge on countless subjects.

It was astounding because while they had top-notch educations - thanks to her sacrifices - she was largely self-educated.

Mrs. DiMuzio didn't finish high school, but she read vociferously and acquired a vast store of knowledge and understanding.

She valued education and worked to help her late husband, Giles J. DiMuzio, put their children through outstanding Catholic high schools, followed by prominent colleges.

Mrs. DiMuzio, 72, died of cancer Tuesday at her Westwood home.

Born Nancy Cooney, she was the youngest of three daughters. They grew up in Price Hill during the Great Depression, and their father was the proprietor of the Warsaw Bar.

Introverted and shy, she possessed a keen wit and insatiable appetite for books.

As did many women of her generation, she married young and soon started a family.

"I never fail to be amazed when I stop to think about what my mother and father accomplished," said her youngest son, Andrew DiMuzio of Mount Lookout. "It really was the American dream. They did everything they could to ensure that their children had unlimited opportunity."

The first thing Mrs. DiMuzio did as a mom was to instill her love of the public library in her children. That she read 10 books a week impressed them.

"She always expected us to do our best and did everything she could to aid us," her son said. That included putting in 20 years at the IRS in Covington to help pay tuition to St. Xavier High School for five sons and to McAuley for two daughters.

After she retired from the IRS, Mrs. DiMuzio volunteered for the Cincinnati Historical Society, working in conservation. She "truly loved helping to preserve the documents that are donated to the historical society," said her daughter Nancy Harmon of Westwood. "History was her life. She could tell you which queen or king was ruling England in 1350. She spent all of her life working on her family history, which included many trips to graveyards all over Kentucky."

Mrs. DiMuzio found out she had cancer two years ago, shortly after her husband's death. Although her chances of surviving surgery were estimated at 30 percent, she recovered enough to travel to New Orleans and the Pacific Coast and to take a Caribbean cruise in March.

In addition to her daughter Nancy and son Andrew, survivors include: her four other sons, Dennis of Price Hill, David of Anderson Township, Daniel of Alexandria, Va., and Patrick of Pleasant Ridge; her other daughter, Peggy Vogt of Westwood; and seven grandchildren.

Visitation is 5-8 p.m. today at Meyer & Geiser Funeral Home, 4989 Glenway Ave., Covedale. Mass of Christian burial is 10 a.m. Saturdayat Sacred Heart Italian Church, 2733 Massachusetts Ave., Camp Washington. Burial is at St. Joseph (new) Cemetery.

Memorials: Hospice of Cincinnati, 4310 Cooper Road, Cincinnati 45242; or the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine St., Cincinnati 45202.

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com