She was born September 26, 1936 at home in Woodside, Queens NYC, delivered by her father, an ophthalmologist as were her siblings. She grew up in a loving home where the live-in housekeeper/nanny, Irene Washington, ran the household while her parents worked as an eye doctor and optometrist team. Her father, Charles, the son of a German immigrant, worked his way through Columbia Medical School. Her mother, (Mary) Isabelle, was a direct descendent of our founding fathers and among a rare group of women to earn a degree in physics from Smith (Class of 1929). In her teen years, Mary was a roller-skating enthusiast just like her older brothers, Michael and Charles. She went on to compete and win skating events on a local and regional level.
In 1955, she attended Dean Junior College in Franklin, Massachusetts where she obtained a business degree. Touched by an air of adventure, she moved to Key West, Florida with her college roommate, Nancy, where they worked at the best hotels on the island. Her favorite story was about the day Cary Grant had off from filming Operation Petticoat and couldn’t find a rental car. He shouted across the bar asking who owned the pretty little MG convertible outside and Mary replied, “That would be me.” At the end of the day, Cary Grant returned her car topped off with gas.
After returning to New York, she worked for William F. Buckley's conservative magazine National Review. As a founding member of YAF (Young Americans for Freedom), she participated in political events, even publicly protesting when Nikita Khrushchev came to the USA. On several occasions, the young YAF members were whisked off to Bill Buckley’s home in the Hamptons to give a full accounting of various protests and FBI encounters over dinner.
She married an NBC camera man and they moved to New Jersey. After travel to Europe, Mexico and Canada, they had two children, William and Elizabeth, and relocated to Cortland, New York in 1967. Mary was an active member of the Hospital Aid Society and often planned and hosted fundraising events. It was during this time she discovered her passion for golf. Never again would one of her children or grandchildren grow up without becoming proficient in the game.
Returning to school, she earned a Master’s degree from SUNY Cortland in Health Education and in 1978, a Ph.D in Human Service Studies from Cornell University. Recently divorced, she became an associate professor in the Health Department at UNC-Greensboro. As a single working mother, using her talent for strategic investing, she put both of her children through college. Relocating to State College, Pennsylvania, she worked diligently in Penn State’s Health Department and became a tenured professor where she remained employed until she retired in 2002.
After moving to State College, she met and married Charles Nicholson in 1989, who she described as the quiet but strong, romantic Humphrey Bogart type. She was instrumental in bringing a wonderful sense of family to her own children, as well as to the Nicholson's, uniting all for holidays, tailgates and (of course) golf. She and Charlie enjoyed fabulous vacations to places such as Istanbul, an elite Alaskan cruise, St. Andrews and many more stunning destinations.
In 2002 she lost her son, Bill, to cancer and in 2004, her husband Charlie passed away. He was the love of her life. In addition to forming a charity in her son’s name, she continued to unify our large family and mentor all 14 grandchildren in golf, arts and investing. She became a true snow-bird, spending warm months in State College and winters at her beach condo on Hutchinson Island, Florida, playing in various senior women’s golf leagues. She made the beach condo her permanent residence in 2016.
Suffering a fall in January 2021, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Requiring assisted living, she moved into a cottage built for her across the street from her daughter’s mountain cabin in southwestern Virginia. There she was cared for by her granddaughter Emily, with healthy gourmet meals, physical therapy and sunshine streaming through skylight windows. She enjoyed daily phone calls with her college roommate, Nancy, and reading her Kindle. Much to everyone’s shock, she even became a cat lover.
Mary E. Nicholson is survived by her daughter Elizabeth, her son-in-law Michael, four step-children, fourteen grandchildren and ten great grandchildren, brother Michael (& Joyce), sister Carolyn and her beloved friend Nancy. She was a strong, bold and kind person. Rest in Peace.
