Margaret G. Nicol

Our Mom, Margaret Gammage Nicol of Fort Collins, Colorado died on Saturday. She was a loving mother, survived by her children Lisa, Leigh, Bob and wife Therese, and Ian. Her cherished husband of 47 years, Robert J. Nicol, died in 2002 and has been much missed.

Margaret was the daughter of Davis and Charlotte Gammage (who we knew as Grandaddy and Dear) and the younger sister of Charles Kennedy Wheeler Gammage, Sr. (Uncle Ken). She is also survived by her sister-in-law Joan Gammage and her nieces and nephews on the Gammage side—Kennedy Jr., Linda, Davis, Andrea, and their children. On the Nicol side she is survived by the children of her departed sister-in-law Mildred Holme (née Nicol)—Robin, Jennifer, Simon, and Joey.

She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1930s and 40s and was educated at Chatham Hall, Wellesley College, and Centre College. After she and Robert were married in 1955, they went on to enjoy life in New York City and environs. They relocated to Fort Collins Colorado in 1996, first to the Bonner Peak Ranch, then Linden Lake, meeting so many wonderful people along the way.

Mom was a creative proponent of childhood development, often loading her VW Bus with a dozen or more children and launching all manner of enriching and creative activities, not to mention just plain fun.

Generally, a few spoiled cats and dogs came along for the ride, and perhaps the odd rodent or reptile. These were all kept in line by her enforcer, a tough Amazonian Parrot named Yogurt.

Mom loved to make a valuable contribution to the community, especially with music. She was a singer and arranger (later a double bassist) for the Wellesley College Tupelos and the Soundettes of the Junior League of Women Voters. A child’s sized double bass is still a huge instrument, and she carried that thing into hospitals, schools, orphanages, nursing homes, and prisons to share her love of music and offer encouragement. Both on her own and with our Dad, she helped reform, support, and fund various educational and health care institutions and charities throughout her life.

She and Dad loved to sail and they spent years exploring the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to the Caribbean Sea. We all share precious memories of friends and shipmates from those days.

Mom considered herself blessed throughout her life by her good fortune with family and friends. She loved her brother Ken and his family and whenever they spoke their Atlanta accents would suddenly bloom like spring flowers. She grew very close to her sister in law (our Aunt Mimi) over many holiday meals in New York, including of course the infamous Easter Sunday when our dogs took a full standing rib roast to “visit” the back corner of the garden.

Mom and Joyce Gevirtz (later Joyce G. McCray) became friends in college but went on be more like sisters and auxiliary mothers to each other’s children.

In recent years Margaret battled against progressive dementia with dignity and grace. The disease powerfully reduced her ability to speak and communicate, but she always remained very interested in family, neighbors, and friends, much more than she was able to convey.

Mom adored gardening and flowers, and if anyone feels like planting in her memory she would enthusiastically approve. We do not desire cut flowers here in Fort Collins, but perhaps we can think of her while reaching out to a friend or loved one in a confined residential situation, as Mom was for the spring and summer of 2020.

In her last months she was wonderfully cared for by the Aspyre Rock Creek Community in Fort Collins, where she smiled often, enjoyed excursions, and tried to give her own food to anyone who looked hungry. We were so grateful to be able to visit with her after the lockdown and during her last week, and to see how well she had been doing.