Judith Nicholson Obituary

My Good Life

I was born on August 24, 1935 to Henrietta Robinson and Frederick Lloyd Scharf in Wheeling, WV. My early years were spent roaming the beautiful hills of West Virginia. It was a simple life.

My college years were spent at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that I was introduced to the southern lifestyle and met my husband of 60 years, John F. Nicholson. We were married in 1957 after he graduated from medical school. The following year, we moved to New York City. We lived there for 45 years; 42 of those in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.

It was a period of great change. It took several years before I recognized that living in NYC provided the opportunity of a lifetime. We lived and worked with people from all over the world and from all walks of life. Our horizon was unlimited. I was happy for myself and our family that we had the privilege to live in such a diverse city. Our four girls all attended public school, graduated and continued on to earn postgraduate degrees including an MS, PhD and DVM.

John retired in 2004. I wept when I moved to NYC and I wept when I left. Although it had taken a long time to see NYC for what it was, by the time we left it was truly home. I had learned to live in a fast-paced city and navigate both its opportunities and its challenges. Following John’s retirement, we moved to Waukee, Iowa. There, we found diversity in animals both wild and domestic; in trees and prairie grasses; in ponds and streams. It was ever changing, always challenging.

Mom died peacefully on August 29, 2024 in Iowa surrounded by family. Dad died in 2017. They are survived by daughters; Lisa Bean of Waukee, IA and children, Jared, Whitney Stewart, Eric and Thomas; Nancy Peterson of Vacaville, CA and children Emma, Reese and Dane; Brigid Nicholson of Felton, CA and daughter Sorel Gosswiller; Pamela Nicholson of Waukee, IA and six great-grandchildren.

With a deeply-rooted love for her many dogs, Mom always had a dog or two by her side. She read the following poem published October 2010 in The Sun. She asked that this poem be in her obituary.

In My Good Death
DALIA SHEVIN
— For David Shevin, in loving memory
I will find myself waist deep in high summer grass. The humming
shock of the golden light. And I will hear them before I see
them and know right away who is bounding across the field to meet
me. All my good dogs will come then, their wet noses
bumping against my palms, their hot panting, their rough faithful
tongues. Their eyes young and shiny again. The wiry scruff of
their fur, the unspeakable softness of their bellies, their velvet ears
against my cheeks. I will bend to them, my face covered with
their kisses, my hands full of them. In the grass I will let them knock
me down.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Best Friends Animal Society 5001 Angel Canyon Road Kanab, UT USA 84741-5000, www.bestfriends.org.