Carmella Marie Shorey

Carmella Marie (Bonanno) Shorey of Nashville, TN passed away on May 1, 2025. All that knew her would attest to how strong, caring, loving, resourceful and incredibly funny she was.

No one turned life’s lemons into lemonade quite like “Cammie”. When money was tight, she would create moments like “Little House on the Prairie Night”, where she would camp with her kids by the living room fireplace and tell great stories. This was only one example of Cammie providing warmth and fun from cold days in life.

Cammie married Glenn Raymond “Tiny” Shorey and raised four children while working multiple jobs. She was more apt to lay on the floor playing with her three daughters and son than to organize her house when she was not working long hours to support her family. Her love and creativity always shined through in her food…lots of wonderful Italian dishes sprinkled with some wonderful recipes she learned through numerous friends and family.

Despite not living in Boston for decades and being “wicked smaht”, she never quite learned how to properly pronounce “quarter”, which always came out as “kwa-tuh”. She was certainly proud to have grown up in Boston and raised in her large Italian family. This shined through in her latter years when her spirits always lifted after watching an episode or 10 of “Cheers”. Cammie was the oldest of 28 grandchildren of Paul Michael and Mary Grace Sances of South Boston. The Boston Globe ran a front-page story about the three generations of the Sances Family growing up in South Boston.

Years of caring for others gradually took their toll on her body, but she never stopped bringing love, humor and occasional feistiness into the world. Cammie is missed by many.

Cammie was preceded in death by her parents Frank and Dominica Bonanno. She survived by her children, Eileen, Glenn (wife, Jennifer), Allysn (husband, Travis) and Kristin; her grandchildren, Marrissa, Michael, Darrian, Mason, Tessa, James, Jaeda, Matthew and Aiden; her two great grandchildren; her siblings, Paula Barnicoat, Denise Bonanno and brother Jeffery Bonanno (deceased); and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Her funeral will be held at Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston on July 2 at 10 am. She will be laid to rest with her deceased relatives at St Michael Cemetery.

A celebration of Cammie’s life will be held at Amrheins Restaurant in South Boston on July 2 at 1pm. All friends and family are welcome and encouraged to send our Cammie off with a good story and a toast. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Alzheimer’s research.