On February 7, 1953 in Elmont, New York, Nancy Lucia Cataldi was born to Lucia Zautzik of Naploi and Albert Cataldi of New York. At a very early age, Nancy, her mother and her older brother Johnny moved to Napoli, Italy to live with her mother's grandparents. It was there that she learned to speak Italian and became enamored of the Italian culture. Returning to the United States in 1963 she and her mother settled in the town of Richmond Hill living under the el train on Jamaica Avenue at 134th Street. Her mother opened Lucia's Italian restaurant at a store front facing Jamaica Avenue and it became well established as a neighborhood fixture for a number of years. Nancy worked as a waitress and learned the art of cooking Neapolitan Cuisine from her mother. Nancy attended Richmond Hill High School under a work study program and graduated in 1971. She was accepted to the noted Fashion Institute of Technology and pursued a career in photography dreaming of becoming a professional photographer. Upon graduating from FIT she became an assistant photographer and developed an eye for fashion. She became a well known fashion stylist and worked for many studios and fashion magazines. Nancy became House Photographer for the New York Rangers Hockey team at Madison Square Garden and Press photographer for the New York Yankees Old Timers Games. She was also Press Photographer for the Belmont Stakes for the New York Times, with many of her photographs appearing on the front page of the Sports Section. Nancy became a remarkable Free Lance photographer, often assigned to cover many historic events in New York City. She photographed many noted celebrities of the time and was a fore runner to today's paparazzi photographers with many of her photographs appeared in prestigious magazines. In 1994 she purchased a 1905 Victorian House in Richmond Hill at 86-22 109th Street. She marveled at its romantic and historic allure and developed a deep interest in the neighborhood. Nancy tenderly restored and refurbished. Through research she learned that the house was designed by noted Richmond Hill architect Henry E. Haugaard. In 1996 with the help of Dr. Stanley Cogan, Queens Borough Historian, her house received one of the first Queensmark awards for historical, architectural and cultural merit. In 1997 she and other residents formed the Richmond Hill Historical Society. By 1999 she had become the President of the organization. Nancy took care of her mother Lucia and tended to her lovingly in this house. A House and Garden Tour was given in May of 2000, and Nancy's house was a part of the tour. During the tour, Nancy's beloved mother unexpected passed away. Although broken hearted she continued to work for the community. Teaming up with Richmond Hill Historian Carl Ballenas the idea of writing a book on the history of Richmond Hill evolved. Working with Arcadia Publishing they gathered many vintage postcards and newspaper articles. In 2002 the book Images of America: Richmond Hill was published and dedicated to their mothers. A few years later the two authors wrote a book about Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens.