Nancy Landry, Belmont aide to teachers, students

For two decades, every child at the Daniel Butler Elementary School in Belmont was positively affected by her sense of duty and giving nature, colleagues said. A teacher’s aide to kindergartners, she took a special interest in children with disciplinary issues and those struggling to grasp concepts in the classroom.

Mrs. Landry apparently suffered a heart attack and died Nov. 22 at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. The lifelong Belmont resident was 55.

“For somebody who didn’t have any formal training, it’s quite fascinating how she would just understand education and understand changes in the classroom and educational programs,’’ said Bruce MacDonald, who retired last year after 17 years as principal at Butler. “It’s a real tragedy that she did not get to pursue education.’’

Mrs. Landry was extraordinarily giving of her time.

“She was the kind of person who always gave to everybody else but never took for herself,’’ said Paul Landry, her husband of 29 years.

A few weeks before her death, a parent of a Butler student was hurt in a car accident after picking up one of his children from school. The child was not hurt, but the father was taken to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. The man’s wife was distraught upon arriving at the school and didn’t know how to get to Newton-Wellesley. Mrs. Landry drove her to the hospital and watched after her children for several hours while she visited her husband.

“She was a phenomenal woman,’’ her husband said. “She was one in a million.’’

“The woman had a heart as big as Kansas,’’ said MacDonald.

Mrs. Landry especially loved the holidays, MacDonald said. She dressed up as a cupcake every year for Halloween and made the children laugh.

When MacDonald retired last year, Michael McAllister was hired as principal. Mrs. Landry greeted him and promptly informed him that she was the “school mom.’’

“She said that I talked a lot, and always offered me some water,’’ McAllister joked. “That was just one of those things. She was always looking out for me and every single person here.’’

The Butler School, where Mrs. Landry spent her career, was the school she attended as a child. She was a daughter of Elizabeth Romano and the late Michael Romano of Belmont. She graduated from Belmont High School in 1972 and worked a few odd jobs before she returned to the Butler School.

After Mrs. Landry died, McAllister, teachers, and the school psychologist broke the news to the students.

“Their reaction was the most amazing to me,’’ McAllister said. “Usually the first thing kids will do is talk about themselves and mention someone they know that passed away. But one student immediately said, ‘One of the things I’m going to miss the most about Mrs. Landry is . . .’ and they all spontaneously went around the room. It was an impressively mature reaction.’’

The students made a book of memories about Mrs. Landry and presented it to her family.

The way Mrs. Landry handled her career encouraged her children to continue her legacy. Her son, Ryan of Arlington, is a music teacher in North Andover. Her daughter, Keryn, is a teacher’s aide at another elementary school in Belmont and plans to pursue her master’s degree to become a teacher.

Mrs. Landry also leaves her sister, Nadine (Romano) Ritchie of Lynnfield.

Services have been held.

John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com