Amy Powers Ballou

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Amy Powers Ballou passed away after an unexpected and sudden illness on Oct. 25, 2024, in Delaware.

Amy was born on the Fourth of July in 1959, in Hollis, N.H. Amy’s parents were Frank and Nancy Ballou; she was the youngest of six siblings, Sandra, Susan, Sarah, Jennifer, and Steven. She adored her father, and had two lifelong “adopted” mothers to whom she was very close. 

Amy’s first love was the ocean. After attending Lawrence Academy in Groton, she moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 1977 for a few years. Amy partnered with owner Dolly Campbell to manage the popular Vineyard Gourmet store on Main Street in Vineyard Haven from 1983 to ’85. After Dolly sold the store, Amy continued to be “the boss” for a few more years. Many loyal customers shopped there for their wonderful selection of cheeses, gourmet items, prepared foods, and the fragrance of freshly ground coffee wafting up from the lower level.

The desire to do more for others was the motivation for Amy’s next life plan: to became a registered nurse. While working as a caregiver for an elderly friend, she attended and graduated from the community college system of New Hampshire. Amy’s reward was always knowing she might have positively impacted the quality of a person’s life at whatever they were at, and that she contributed to their comfort. Many friends relied on her professional advice and generous support, as well as her ability to be optimistic and look on the bright side.

After graduation, Amy, always a traveler, signed up with a travel nurse program, and was assigned 90-day assignments in several cities. She found the city she loved the most was San Diego, where her uncle, Donald Ballou, lived, and the two became lifelong pals. Amy later attended the nurse practitioner advanced degree program at Northeastern University in Boston while she worked in local hospitals. With a degree in hand, Amy moved to Cape Cod, where she worked as a compassionate, dedicated psychiatric nurse practitioner at a mental health center for children. Her office was a warm, welcoming, and safe place for her patients. Back by the ocean again, she loved living there.

Amy later transitioned to St. Petersburg, Fla., to be with her life partner, Eric Stocki, who was also a nurse, originally from Massachusetts. They were fans of all things New England, and shared a lovely home close to the beaches. Their life was enhanced by occasional travel, and by Lucy, a lively Labrador retriever, whom they both adored. After retiring, Amy, Eric, and Lucy moved to a new home in Delaware in 2023. 

Amy loved the Vineyard, flower gardening, walks on the beach, shopping, Christmas Tree Shops, cooking, home decorating, a good chat over coffee, laughs over white wine. Her favorite song was “Benny and the Jets”; favorite movies were “The Red Shoes,” “Easter Parade,” and “The Sound of Music.” Amy was always up for a “chop around the spin ” — she loved dancing at the Hot Tin Roof, followed by a late-night swim. Despite being unable to have children, she was devoted to and helpful with her friends’ kids. An avid reader of fiction, she also closely followed health news, politics, and world events. 

To be around Amy was to be reminded that anything is possible. She was a good listener and empathetic. She was fiercely loyal to anyone fortunate enough to be her friend. Amy was fun to work with — full of ideas, enthusiasm, and goodwill. She had the joy that comes from simply being present, and her great, memorable laugh was contagious. Amy never stopped dreaming of new adventures, and it is with great sorrow that we will not hear her next plan or see her again. We love and miss you, Amy!