Aurora Nerboso Spatola

Aurora Nerboso Spatola, age 98 of Concord, formerly of Belmont, Carlisle, and Boca Raton, FL, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 1, 2025. She was the beloved wife of the late Joseph Spatola, who died in 2016.

Aurora Nerboso was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on July 14, 1927, the youngest child of Italian immigrants Nicola and Elena (Pennachhio) Nerboso.

Raised and educated in Somerville, Aurora graduated from Somerville High School with the class of 1945. She then studied drawing and ceramics at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, where she met her husband.

Aurora and Joe married on November 2, 1947, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Somerville. They settled in Belmont, where they built their first two houses and raised their daughter, Deborah. They later moved to Carlisle, where they built a third house, and then to Boca Raton, before moving back to Concord in 2012.

Aurora was a talented and respected artist. She studied painting with George Dergalis for many years at the deCordova Museum School, and at the age of 50 Aurora had a one-woman show at the Copley Society of Art, showcasing her acrylic paintings. Her style was Abstract Expressionism. Her many paintings from over the years are cherished by family and friends. An artist with diverse interests, Aurora also studied silversmithing at deCordova with Florence Hollingsworth, where she designed and hand wrought sterling silver pieces including bowls, bracelets, and pendants. She was also a skillful knitter, and she continued to paint and knit into her late nineties.

Often the life of the party, Aurora made friends everywhere she went. She was a kind, compassionate, and daring person who lived life to the fullest. She followed politics with passion and had a deep concern for humanity. Aurora worked to create balance, beauty, and functionality in each of her homes, where she continually entertained family and friends. Her appearance was a work of art: she was always elegant, stylish, and glamorous. In everything she did, she was led by her intuition and creativity.

She is survived by her loving daughter, Deborah Spatola O’Kelly, and her husband, Terence, of Carlisle, and her cherished granddaughters, Jacqueline O’Kelly of Mountain View, California, and Catherine O’Kelly of Worcester. Her siblings were the late Mary DeVellis Cox of Belmont, Salvatore Nerboso of Plymouth, and Regina DiNitto of Winchester.

Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Aurora during visiting hours on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, Concord. Her funeral service will be held on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at 1:00 pm at Duvall Chapel at Newbury Court, 80 Deaconess Rd., Concord. Burial in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, will be private. 

Donations in her memory may be made to:
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
P.O. Box 91891
Washington, D.C. 20090-1891
www.nationalmssociety.org

Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, Concord, MA 01742 978-369-3388 www.concordfuneral.com