Vanessa Anne Nemara, beloved mother, Nanna, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, passed away on September 1, 2026, in Harvest, Alabama, at the age of 73.Vanessa was born on August 24, 1953, in Middle Village, New York, to Francis Joseph Nemara and Ann Margaret O’Mara. A proud New Yorker by birth, Vanessa carried that unmistakable New York spirit with her throughout her life—strong-minded, independent, intelligent, and never particularly shy about letting you know exactly what she thought.
In 1996, Vanessa moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, following the closure of Governors Island in New York by the United States Coast Guard. What began as a career move became the beginning of the Virginia chapter of her life. She later made Chesapeake, Virginia, her home, where she resided from 2000 until her passing.
Vanessa devoted 35 years to the United States Civil Service. She began her career with the General Services Administration and ultimately spent much of her career with the United States Coast Guard, where she worked in procurement and logistics and rose to the GS-13 level. Her career was built on intelligence, determination, competence, and an impressive ability to know exactly how things were supposed to be done.
And if they weren’t being done that way, Vanessa was almost certainly going to let you know.
Her career with the Coast Guard was a source of great pride and dedication, and her 35 years of civil service represented a lifetime of commitment and service to her country.
Vanessa was exceptionally intelligent, highly educated, and very accomplished—which she would probably consider an unnecessarily modest description of herself. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from John Jay College in 1977 and her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College in 1979, followed by a Master’s Degree in National Defense from the College of Naval Warfare in 2003.
Clearly, one degree was never going to be enough for Vanessa. Apparently, she had things to prove—and she had the transcripts to prove them.
Vanessa was a lifelong and devout Catholic. She attended St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church in Chesapeake, Virginia, and was an active member of Cursillo through the Diocese of Richmond. Her faith was an important part of who she was and guided the way she lived her life and cared for those around her.
Vanessa never married, but she certainly did not need a husband to complete her family. She stopped at perfection with her only daughter, Sophia Marie Tantillo Alger. Naturally, Vanessa saw no reason to risk having another child and potentially upsetting the winning formula.
Sophia was the great love of her life. Their relationship was filled with love, loyalty, laughter, strong opinions, and the occasional disagreement in which both parties were presumably correct. Vanessa, of course, would have maintained that she was correct more often.
Beneath all the teasing, opinions, and stubbornness was a bond that neither time nor distance could diminish. Sophia was, without question, one of the greatest sources of Vanessa’s love, pride, and joy.
Vanessa’s greatest joy, however, had nothing to do with GS-13s, degrees, procurement, logistics, or any of the other things that kept her busy throughout her career.
Her grandchildren were her world.
She loved watching them grow, cheering them on, and—most importantly—watching them play sports. She was their biggest fan, their loudest supporter, and occasionally their unsolicited coach. Whether they needed advice or not was beside the point. Nanna had advice. Nanna had opinions. And Nanna was going to share both.
She followed their lives with genuine enthusiasm and took enormous pride in every one of them. Their accomplishments were her accomplishments, their victories were her victories, and their struggles became something she worried about until she was satisfied they were going to be okay.
Her joy grew even greater when she became a great-grandmother. Her first great-grandchild, Jasper Williams, brought a new kind of happiness into her life, and she was thrilled to watch another generation of her family begin to grow.
Then came another reason to celebrate.
On her 73rd birthday, August 24, 2026, Vanessa received the wonderful news that her second great-grandchild was on the way. It was a birthday gift that could not be wrapped, but was undoubtedly one of the best gifts she could have received. The news filled her with tremendous excitement and joy, and she was thrilled to know that another little member of her family was on the way.
Although Vanessa did not have the opportunity to meet her newest great-grandchild, she knew they were coming and was able to celebrate that precious news before she passed. Her excitement, anticipation, and love for this newest member of the family will forever be part of their story.
Vanessa is survived by her daughter, Sophia Marie Tantillo Alger; her grandchildren, Christianna Greigh Alger, 24, and her partner, Hunter Sanders, who are expecting a child; Addison Bayleigh Eleanor Alger, 23, her husband, Garrett Williams, and their son, Jasper Williams; Phallon Reighn Elise Alger, 22; Jacobbe Reese Alger, 18; and Dominicco Sebastian Alger, 17.
She is also survived by her beloved sister, Janet Sarah (Nemara) Siska; her nephew, Christopher Francis Siska and his wife, Charlotte; and their children, Henrik and Astrid.
Vanessa shared a particularly special relationship with Christopher throughout his life. She was enormously proud of him and remained one of his strongest supporters. She believed in him, encouraged him, celebrated his accomplishments, and was always in his corner.
She was also, naturally, an aunt—which meant that support came with opinions.
Christopher knew that Vanessa would tell him what she thought, whether he had asked or not. But he also knew that behind every opinion was love, behind every piece of advice was concern, and behind every celebration was a woman who was genuinely and deeply proud of him.
Vanessa was preceded in death by her parents, Francis Joseph Nemara and Ann Margaret O’Mara, and her brother-in-law, John Robert Siska.
Vanessa’s family was her greatest accomplishment and her greatest source of pride. She leaves behind not only the memories she created with those she loved, but a growing family that will carry her love and memory into generations she was so excited to see unfold.
She will be remembered for her intelligence, strength, faith, fierce love of family, unwavering support of those she loved, and her ability to make her opinions known—whether you were prepared to hear them or not. She had a wit and personality all her own, and those who knew her best will undoubtedly continue to hear her voice in their heads when life presents them with something she would have had an opinion about.
Most of all, Vanessa will be remembered as a mother and Nanna whose family was the center of her world. She took immense pride in her daughter, adored her grandchildren, and was overjoyed at the thought of her family continuing into another generation.
Her love will live on in her daughter, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, her sister and extended family, and in all those fortunate enough to have known her.
A viewing will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Valhalla Funeral Home in Huntsville, Alabama. Cremation will follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Vanessa’s memory to the Women’s Giving Circle of Richmond, supporting women and families in need through the Catholic community.
Women’s Giving Circle of Richmond – https://wgc.richmondcatholicfoundation.org
