'Whopping, happy-go-lucky, New Orleans-style party': Celebrating the life of Nancy Pauli
The Kitchener-Waterloo Dixieland Jazz Club held a rumpus New Orleans-style wake on Saturday, in remembrance of its long-time director Nancy Pauli. Pauli passed away in February at the age of 81.
“We wanted it to be a whopping, happy-go-lucky, New Orleans-style party, which she would have loved,” Wayne Pauli, Nancy’s husband said.
Musicians perform at the Kitchener-Waterloo Dixieland Jazz Club on May 28, 2022. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener)
Attendees said they remember Nancy’s happy spirit and how she always helped boost the mood of any party.
"A very loving, warm person who just loved to have fun. If you really knew her, you loved her," Dan Rudow, director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Dixieland Jazz Club said.
Nancy was also a lover of Dixieland jazz music. Her friends said she was often the first and last one on the dance floor.
"Being up at nine in the morning for the first event and being last to go to bed and having people back for after parties and things like that. It's just incredible how much fun she could have," Rudow said.
Photos of Nancy Pauli are displayed at her wake on May 28, 2022. (CTV Kitchener)
Nancy and Wayne instantly knew they shared a love for the genre of music when they met in 1995. They got married on the stage of a jazz festival three years later.
The couple spent 25 years travelling to festivals all over the world, including at least 15 trips to Nancy's favourite, New Orleans.
“We used to dress up in our silly costumes on Friday morning and go in the parade down Bourbon Street. Nancy always had her mug in her hand, with a beer, and we marched on Bourbon Street to the park and just partied all day long. She loved it,” Wayne Pauli said.
'It's just incredible how much fun she could have,' a friend said of Nancy Pauli. (CTV Kitchener)
"It was her passion in life to listen to this music and be out with people and just have the community of music with these people,” Mark Pauli, Nancy’s stepson said.
The couple also ran the K-W Dixieland Jazz Club for more than two decades. It gave them a chance to share their love of music with local residents, while attracting new acts each week.
“Mostly they came from Toronto, but we have a trombone player here today from Ottawa. We have musicians come from the states,” Wayne Pauli said.
"She was the biggest jazz fan that anybody probably ever knew. That's what they did every Saturday afternoon," Mark Pauli said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Brown campaign accuses Conservative party of acting in favour of Poilievre after disqualification from leadership race
The campaign for Patrick Brown said it was consulting its legal team after the leadership election organizing committee of the federal Conservatives voted to disqualify him from the race late Tuesday.

Woman who was set on fire on Toronto bus has died, police confirm
A woman who was set on fire while on a Toronto bus in a random attack last month has died, police say.
Despite fears of arrest, some Russians refuse to halt war protests
Despite a massive government crackdown on protests against the war in Ukraine, some Russians have persisted in speaking out against the invasion.
'We're all really shaken up': Father recounts reuniting with missing daughter as U.S. man is charged
The father of the Edmonton girl who was missing for nine days said he was getting ready to post another update on Facebook last Saturday when police knocked on his door.
Assembly of First Nations delegates reject resolution calling for chief's suspension
An emergency resolution before the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting to reaffirm the suspension of National Chief RoseAnne Archibald has failed in Vancouver.
Two young ER doctors quit Montreal jobs, blaming Quebec's broken health-care system and Bill 96
Two young emergency room doctors, raised and trained in Montreal, are leaving their jobs after only two years to move back to Toronto – and they say the Quebec health-care model and Bill 96 are to blame.
Tamara Lich breached conditions by appearing with fellow convoy leader: Crown
The Crown is seeking to revoke bail for Tamara Lich, a leader of the 'Freedom Convoy,' after she appeared alongside a fellow organizer in an alleged breach of her conditions.
Parade shooting suspect charged with 7 counts of murder
A man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder after firing off more than 70 rounds at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including the high-powered rifle used in the shooting, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said.
Bank of Canada's rapid rate hikes likely to cause a recession, study finds
The Bank of Canada's strategy of rapidly increasing its key interest rate in an effort to tackle skyrocketing inflation will likely trigger a recession, says a new study released Tuesday from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.